That Girl
by SaraLyleth
Summary: Season One my way. Veronica is trying to solve Lily's murder but has to deal with Logan who isn't the jerk he was in the show. I'm a LoganVeronica fan so it's going to be LoVe.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody!!! I'm a new Veronica Mars fan and ever since I watched the first season in one weekend a couple months ago, I had this idea in my head. Basically I'm keeping the show the way it went but I'm getting Logan and Veronica together in my own way. Much earlier than the show did it. I know it's been done before but I think mines a little different. I hope you like it.**

**It starts off at Episode 5 Season 1. You know where Troy turns out to be a jerk off. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Veronica Mars, just love the show!!!**

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Veronica sat at her desk in Mars Investigations staring at her computer screen as Wallace set a soda down in front of her. She was finally starting to trust a guy and seriously falling for him and now he was going to be shipped away. She wasn't going to let that happen.

"You're going to find Troy's stolen car over the internet?" Wallace said in disbelief.

"You'd be surprised what one can find with a few nimble keystrokes," Veronica said smirking.

"All right, then, Velma. Why don't you see what you can find on, say, me?" Wallace asked offering up a challenge.

"It's Daphne, thank you very much," she said sarcastically but she smiled and typed in the web address for Prying Eyes dot com.

"What's that?" he asked curiously.

Veronica smiled and turned so she was facing him. "If you're a PI with a password, this is the gateway to many a skeleton filled closet. Arrests, divorces, bankruptcies," she explained as she typed in Wallace's name. "Rut-roh! Somebody got their license suspended last year."

"I got it back. Bet you it doesn't say that," Wallace said smiling. He walked around the desk so he could sit down.

"Wait, if I'm Daphne, what does that make you? Fred?" Veronica asked carrying on their Scooby Doo theme.

"Oh, no. If I gotta be any of those white boys, I gotta be Shaggy all the way, baby. Shaggy's got mah flavour," Wallace joked making Veronica smile.

"Awwww, you still have a subscription to _Mad_ magazine. You're all about the flavour," Veronica teased shutting her laptop as her dad walks into the room.

"Hey, guys," he said walking towards the fridge.

"Hi," she said but then quietly said to Wallace, "Hey, help me out. So, for my dad's birthday, I'm thinking…rock climbing?"

**"**Because he loves heights?" Wallace asked smiling.

"Not so much but keep thinking outside the box, I like it. And don't wait on me for dinner, I'll probably get take-out from the Italian place," Keith said heading back towards his office.

"Luigi's? Will you get me some lasagna?" Veronica asked smiling innocently.

"Some lasagna?" Keith asked confused stopping in the doorway of his office. When Veronica just stared at him he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just saying last time we went to Luigi's, you ate your weight in manicotti."

" And now your birthday will be spent sky-diving;" she said taking offense to her dad's comment. She smiled when her dad laughed from his office. "Alone."

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Veronica sat at the computer in the journalism room watching as her journalism teacher excused the class. "Thanks, everybody. Don't forget, interviewing exercise tomorrow." Mrs. Dent followed her student's out of the classroom as Luke rushed in.

"Hey. You're helping Troy find his dad's car, right?" he asked out of breath.

"You're sweating on me," Veronica said not looking away from the computer screen.

Luke takes a deep breath. "Look, I need your help. There's kind of more to this car thing than the-the car. There was a piñata full of steroids in the back seat. I-I did a run for Hank Zigman. He owns the Zig Zag Sports Club. I wanted to get pumped for Varsity baseball. I was…pretty much down for whatever."

"Including shrunken testicles and acne scars. Well, speaking for the women of America – good plan! Wait. What did Troy and Logan know about this?" she asked glaring at him.

"Nothing. I swear," Luke said shaking his head but when she just continued to stare at him he sighed. "Yeah, all right, Logan knew but he wasn't-he wasn't in on anything."

"It doesn't matter anyway. I don't help dealers find their lost products," Veronica said not feeling bad at having to turn down a drug smuggler, even if he did look pathetic.

"Look, don't think of it like that, all right? Think of it like you're saving my life, I mean the guy's built like a truck. He will-he will break one of my limbs," Logan said sounding even more desperate now.

"If I were to help you, you would have to return the steroids and get your money back and then return the cash, not the drugs," Veronica said caving. Maybe she really was a marshmallow.

"Yeah, I'll do whatever," Luke said happy to have her just agree to help him.

"I'll figure something out. Until then just lay low," Veronica said grabbing her mother's fake death certificate from the printer. She stood there staring at it for a moment. Even knowing it was a fake death certificate it still hurt a little to read it.

She was still running the conversation she'd had with her dad through her head over and over. He was dating her guidance counselor. She'd told him she was okay with it but she knew she wasn't. But she wanted him to be happy.

"So you're helping out Luke huh," Logan said from the doorway. He'd forgotten his notebook for his next class and had walked in on the end of Luke and Veronica's conversation. He shouldn't have been surprised to see Veronica taking on another case, it seemed the new Veronica Mars was quiet the super sleuth.

"So Logan, steroids," Veronica said turning around leaning against the table that held the printer.

"If you were paying attention Ms. Mars," Logan said heading over towards the table that had his notebook. "I just knew about the steroids, I didn't actually have anything to do with it."

"Hmm," was all Veronica said. She walked back over to the computer and cleared out the screen but not before Logan read what was on there.

"Your mom is dead," he said surprised.

"No," Veronica said after a moment of silence.

"Then may I ask why you have a death certificate for her," Logan asked curiously.

"It's just for….a case," Veronica said grabbing her bag so she could leave.

"Veronica," Logan said something in the tone of his voice made her stop and turn to face him. It wasn't the psychotic jackass he'd turned into lately but the old Logan, the guy she'd considered one of her best friends. "I just wanted to say thank you." When Veronica just stared at him he sighed. "For the tape you gave me. I'd forgotten we'd made it and it was nice remembering that night."

"It was a great night," Veronica admitted smiling sadly.

"One of the last great ones we had," Logan admitted. When Veronica looked confused he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "That was the last night we were a foursome. Duncan and you broke up and then Lily, well you know."

"Yeah, I know," Veronica said nodding her head. If anybody knew how much things had changed in just a year it was her. She'd lost more than a best friend, she'd lost three.

"I guess you do," Logan agreed his face flushing when she just stared at him with this all knowing look in her eyes. "I just don't get you anymore Veronica. You've changed so much in a year. I don't even recognize you anymore."

"Who's fault is that?" Veronica asked softly before turning to go.

"Yours," Logan said loudly. "You walked away from us Veronica. We could have used you, Duncan could have used you but no…you had to accuse his father and nearly wreck Duncan's home life more than it already was. How do you live with that?"

"You could have used me," Veronica said so quietly Logan had to strain to hear her. "How 'bout me Logan? Lily was my best friend, my best friend. She meant more to me than anyone."

"Funny way of showing it," Logan said bitterly.

Veronica shook her head and had to ask herself why she was standing here having this conversation. They'd had it many times before and nothing was ever resolved. They'd yell at each other, say things they both believed and then went on their merry ways. But something in Logan's eyes was keeping her from walking away this time. He looked desperate for some reason.

"Oh I showed it," Veronica said seriously. "I show it everyday when I walk down these halls with my head held high listening to the whispers and the taunts that come from people who I use to be so called friends with. I ignore the late night phone calls and the flat tires." She walked to the doorway but turned to say one last thing. "I show it every time I go to Lily's gravesite and tell her that I miss her and that I won't rest until I know everything about the day she died."

"You go to her grave," Logan said surprised.

"She's my best friend and my only true friend that I ever had," Veronica answered smiling as she got a picture of Lily in her head. "You keep saying that I walked away from you and I let you guys down. But the truth is Logan, you let me down. But the worst thing is you let Lily down. Do you think she's smiling down on you right now? Because I'm pretty sure that she's proud of me. I finally became the girl she always wanted me to be." She shook her head sadly when he just stared at her and finally walked away when it became apparent that he wasn't going to say anything. Once again nothing was resolved and she'd just wasted precious minutes on Logan when she could have been working at saving Troy's life. Damn Logan.

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'Not bad. Definitely the work of a pro. A pro who knew my schedule quite well last year. Judging by my lack of an eight man, twenty-four hour security detail, I'm guessing Dad hasn't had the pleasure of viewing this little slideshow,' Veronica thought staring at the photo's she'd gotten out of her mom's safety deposit box. She was wrapped up in the pictures she looked up in surprise as Miss James, Rebecca, walks into the office.

"Hi!" she said brightly but Veronica could clearly tell she was nervous.

"Hello," Veronica said shutting the file that she'd downloaded the files on. She watched as her dad walked out of his office and looked even more nervous than Rebecca, if that was possible.

"Hey," he said wrapping one of his arms around Miss James shoulders.

"Hi," Rebecca said softly.

"I thought, uh-" Keith said slightly confused to find her at the office this early.

'I'm guessing I'm early, right?" Rebecca asked her face flushing.

"No, no, it's fine. It's fine," Keith reassured her.

"I'm sorry. I'm just-I was anxious. Hi," she finally said again after taking a deep breath.

Veronica watched as they mumbled a couple more Hi's before they finally kissed which was definitely an eye opener for her. She'd just found out they were dating, she didn't exactly know how to handle the public display of affection.

"Uh, Veronica, Rebecca wanted to stop by and uh…" Keith said but looked at Rebecca when he came up empty again.

"And, uh, just say hello. Outside of school. I'm sure this is a little weird for you so…" she said pointing between her and Keith.

"Well, this," Veronica said pointing between herself and the couple, "is a little weird, but…you two dating isn't. Um, I'm fine. No worries." Veronica smiled hoping that her dad couldn't tell she was lying to his face. She wasn't okay and she wouldn't be okay now that she knew her mom had been forced out of her life.

"Well, I thought, um…" Keith said staring at his daughter.

"And-and I agree," Rebecca said quickly.

"That if you had the chance to talk…things would seem a little less awkward," Keith said making a face when he realized how wrong they'd been.

"And are you starting to see the catch-twenty-two inherent in the plan?" Veronica asked smirking.

"As a matter of fact, I am," Rebecca said softly. "Okay, well, um, is there anything I can do that would…make things easier for you?"

**"** Can you get me out of fifth period bio?" Veronica asked lightening the mood. Her dad and Rebecca stayed to chat for a couple minutes before they were off on whatever date they had planned and Veronica sighed in relief. She could finally look at the pictures again.

When her Dad had accused Jake Kane of Lily's murder, hell had broken loose. Everybody had taken sides and most of the citizens of Neptune had taken Jake's side forcing her dad out of office. Veronica had stood behind her dad one hundred percent, trusting that he knew what he was doing…her mom hadn't. Or so she thought. She'd thought her mom had bolted hewn things got tough but maybe she hadn't had a choice. Somebody had threatened her with losing me, how could I blame her for protecting me?

Veronica stared at the photo's, still amazed that someone had the audacity to threaten her mom with her own daughter's life. How could they not have known it would come out at sometime? If she showed her dad these he'd flip out and she wasn't ready for that. She had to find out who'd taken these photo's. She looked down at her watch and swore, after she fixed Troy's mess first.

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Veronica sat in the car facing Troy as she explained what little she had found out. "So far, it's been a whole lot of brick walls, but I talked to my buddy, Earl yesterday, at the impound yard."

"What do I love more? That you have a buddy named Earl or that he works at the impound yard?" Troy joked making them both smile.

"I'm guessing both. No sign of the Beemer. But he can get you a great deal on a good times van," Veronica said cracking her own joke.

"I'll pass that onto my dad when he gets back. Maybe it'll take his mind off loading his gun," he said pausing for a moment to listen to the song playing on the radio. "I dig this song."

"Yeah, me too. Here's a thought. If Tijuana was Logan's idea then stealing the car could've been the master plan," she pointed out.

"It was more of a meeting of the minds, if you will," Troy replied

"Logan is a jackass Troy," Veronica said not willing to let it drop. "He didn't use to be or if he was I never noticed but after this last year, nothing would surprise me."

"He wouldn't have done it," Troy said shaking his head. "What would he want with my dad's car when he has his own rich father's to choose from?" Troy took a deep breath before he went on. "I think you're barking up the wrong tree with that one Mars. Logan is my friend, he wouldn't do that."

"He was my friend to," Veronica said softly but decided it was time to change the subject. Troy would find out about Logan's true colors sometime. "Ah, so…what was on the menu for this night of grand debauchery?"

"Let's see. From, uh, eight to nine, we brainstormed on how to overthrow Kim Jong-Il. From nine to ten, we deleted the records of the black voters of Florida. After that it was, uh, yeah it was all donkey shows," Troy said smiling.

"So the usual?" she said rolling her eyes.

"Pretty much,' Troy said leaning back in the passenger seat of Veronica's car.

"Anything else?" Veronica asked after a moment of silence had gone by. She couldn't help but think he was keeping something from her.

"If you wanna ask something, you just ask," Troy said getting pissed off now that she was pushing the issue.

"Okay. Did you meet anyone odd or were you followed? Did you see any suspicious activity?" she asked.

"How about all of the above and have you ever been to Tijuana?" Troy asked slightly uncomfortable with her line of questioning.

"I'm not looking for DNA samples. It's just the more information I have about the car, the better chances of you finding it," she pointed out softly. She didn't want to fight with him but she needed to know everything.

"I know. Sorry," Troy said taking a deep breath.

Veronica waited but he didn't add anything else and she dropped it. He was keeping something from her, her Mar's radar was going off and it was never wrong. Okay, maybe once in awhile it was wrong but she had a feeling there was more to this story than Troy was letting on.

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Veronica walked out of her apartment and to the parking lot of the apartment building replaying the scene she'd just had with her father and Rebecca. So now she was going to be cooking them dinner. Boy when her father starts dating he starts off with a bang.

"You ready?" Weevil asked pulling up in front of her on his motorcycle.

Veronica just nodded and climbed on behind him. It was a short drive to Breaker's Yard and before she knew it they had stopped and Weevil was talking to Angel.

"Angel! How's business?" Weevil asked as they high fived and gave each other a manly hug.

"Have you found the Lexus that I asked you about?" Angel asked smiling.

"This is Veronica. She's the girl that got me out of juvie. I told you about her. Look, she's looking for a car. A green BMW 740i. It should've came through here a couple of days ago," Weevil said ignoring Angel's question.

"It came and went. We left it really cool," Angel said. He looked at Veronica who was standing by the bike. "Tell her that the client has the receipt and the registration in order, like all my clients. And I don't even remember his name."

"Yeah, I hear you," Weevil said turning to walk away.

"And nephew, don't bring people I don't know," Angel warned.

"All right," Weevil agreed. He walked back over to his favorite private dick and cleared his throat getting ready to tell her exactly what Angel had said.

"Did you ask him about the piñata?" Veronica asked before he could say anything.

"Oh, yeah. One more thing, uh. Did you happen to see a piñata?" Weevil called out to Angel.

"Mario took it. It's his daughter's birthday," Angel explained.

"Gracias, Tio," Weevil said as he climbed back on his bike. "So the car wa-"

"Was chopped. Your uncle won't say for who, but the papers are in order, blah, blah, blah. Please tell me you know where Mario lives, because we need to get that piñata right away," Veronica interrupted him.

"Baby, I'll buy you a piñata," Weevil said slightly impressed that she understood what his uncle had been talking about.

"Will you buy me a piñata full of steroids?" Veronica asked sweetly.

"A piñata full of steroids," Weevil repeated. "What kind of people you hanging out with V?"

"I don't know anymore," Veronica answered honestly. She climbed onto the back of his bike and the ride to the party was quick and finding out the drugs weren't in the piñata was even quicker.

"Dammit," Veronica said kicking the tire on his bike.

"Hey watch the bike," Weevil said but he was smiling as he said it. "Just tell Luke that he's shit out of luck."

"How did you know…" Veronica asked confused.

"I know things," Weevil said climbing back onto his bike. "I also know that Echolls has been watching you pretty closely since yesterday. The only thing I don't know is why."

Veronica closed her eyes. She had made sure not to look in Logan's direction at school but to find out he had been staring at her was a little much. She regretted making that comment about Lily being proud of him. That had been crossing the imaginary line they had drawn.

"We just had a fight," she finally said when Weevil didn't move to start the bike.

"Normal fight or I'm going to have to inflict some pain on the rich boy's ass," Weevil said slowly.

Veronica smiled. "Nothing for you to worry about." She climbed on the back of his bike and tapped his shoulder so they could go. She still had a lot more to do for Troy's case of the missing car and she didn't want to discuss Logan anymore. Soon enough she'd have to apologize, her conscious demanded it.

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Veronica sat in her room later that night putting disposable phones into envelopes hoping that one of them would reach her mom. The pictures proved that her mom hadn't just left by choice, some one had pushed her out the door. Now if her mom would just call her so she could tell her she knows about the photos, maybe she could find the person behind it and her mom could come home.

She heard the door open and walked out of her room, shutting the door behind her so her dad wouldn't see all the envelopes and ask questions. "One more hour and this might actually constitute a walk of shame."

"Let's say I'm gonna play the dad card and go to bed. That all right?" he asked sarcastically but he was smiling.

**"**Actually, I need your help," Veronica said needing her dad's help on Troy's case. She already was thinking up a plan to help Luke now that the steroids weren't in the piñata. She just was stuck when it came to the actual car.

"What's up?" Keith asked surprised that his daughter was asking him for help.

**"**Troy got his dad's car stolen on his way back from Tijuana and we're trying to find it before his dad gets back so he's not shipped off to boarding school in Albuquerque," Veronica explained knowing that this was painting her boyfriend in not exactly the best light.

"Hmm. He's important to you, isn't he?" Keith asked reading it in his daughter's eyes.

"Yes, he is," she admitted. "And I need you to do some of that voodoo that you do so well.

"I'll be nice to your boyfriend if you be nice to my girlfriend. Veronica?" Keith said seriously.

"Deal," she grudgingly replied. She wished she could just tell her dad what she'd found in her mom's safety deposit box but she wasn't sure what that information would mean to him…if anything.

"Good morning," Keith said walking into his room.

"Good night," Veronica said softly heading back to her room. She still had envelopes to stuff and she did want to get some sleep tonight.

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"I mean, two thousand bucks with four bids? These people have no idea what a Barry Bonds' ball's worth," Luke complained the next day in the journalism room.

"No, it's classic bidding strategy. They wait 'til the end of the auction. Try hitting refresh," Veronica asked sitting up so she could read the computer screen.

"Classic bidding," Luke said unhappily.

"See, there you go. Twenty-eight hundred. We're almost there," Veronica said smiling.

"No, we're not almost there." Luke said sounding even more upset. "I-I-I can't do this. I mean, you have no idea what I went through to get this ball. You have no idea what it's going to be worth when he retires."

"Luke. A ball or your life. You do the math," Veronica said holding her hands up like a balancing scale. When Luke just stares at her she rolls her eyes. "It's a ball!"

"Yeah, it-" Luke said but slaps the desk when Veronica stands up and walks out of the classroom.

Veronica headed outside spying Troy across the school yard. She headed that way and sat down beside him.

"What are you doing after school? Wanna come over and play detective?" Troy asked smiling.

"How are you so laid back about all this? I mean, if we don't find this car, we're done. This. Over. Does that not scare you?" Veronica asked confused that her boyfriend didn't seem to care that they are going to be separated soon.

**"**Yes, it does. I mean it scares the hell out of me," Troy said seriously.

"Then why do you seem so-" Veronica said searching for the right words.

"Let's…let's just say that you've been told you have seventy-two hours to live. How do you spend them? You can dig through medical texts looking for a miracle cure or you can make those seventy-two hours the best three days of your life. And I choose sexy fun time," Troy said shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, I choose a miracle cure," Veronica said her turn to be serious.

Veronica sat in her journalism class later that day staring at Ashley Banks, one of the girls that loved making her life a living hell. She hated these class projects but Mallory seemed to think that they would make them better journalists.

"Remember." Mallory said standing in front of the class who had broken up into pairs." Start with light, easy questions first. Let your subject get comfortable.

"So, Ms. Mars. How do you respond to the rumors that your boyfriend hooked up with strippers in Tijuana last weekend?" Ashley asked smirking when she saw she had scored a point.

Veronica sat there glaring at her because although she'd heard the rumors, she had chose to ignore them instead of dwelling on them. But of course she'd have to bring them up. "Ms. Banks. Have you decided which parent you're going to live with after the divorce? And if I may, a follow up. Can you believe your father's choice in mistresses?" Veronica watched as what she had said sunk in.

"Veronica, I need to speak with you after class, please," Mallory said over hearing what she said to Ms. Banks.

Ashley and Veronica stuck to the light and easy questions for the rest of class but soon enough class was over and Veronica stood in front of Mallory's desk.

"You look ready for a fight," Mallory commented.

"I get that a lot. I guess it's just my usual expression," Veronica replied.

"How do you think Ashley's going to sleep tonight?" Mallory asked.

"I didn't tell her anything she didn't already know…deep down," Veronica said beginning to feel a little guilty.

"Maybe. But sometimes the lies we let ourselves believe are for our own good," Mallory pointed out. "You coming?"

"Uh, in a minute. Research," Veronica said watching as she walked out of the classroom.

She walked back over to the computer and took a deep breath as she sat down. Mallory was wrong, love is an investment. Information is insurance. With someone whose heart has already been crushed, you can't be too careful.

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Veronica stood staring at the file her dad had just laid down in front of her. She'd known giving him the file on Rebecca had gone way beyond interfering but she just couldn't handle him moving on so fast. Her mom was out there and she just needed a push to come back. But once again her father decided to issue a counter attack and give her a file on her own boyfriend.

Normally she'd just open it and read the contents but for some reason she knew that opening the file was going to be opening a can of worms. Troy had been keeping something back since the beginning of this whole fiasco and surely the file probably held some information that could shed a little light on the subject.

Veronica took a deep breath and opened the file. It didn't take long before she shut the file and grabbed her bag. Troy and her needed to have a talk. She drove to the school and walked through the empty hallways until she stood in front of Troy's locker.

"Hey, sexy. Give me a kiss, make all my troubles disappear?" Troy asked walking up to Veronica.

"All your troubles? That would take a lot of kissing," Veronica said not able to hide the anger she had pumping through her veins. "I'm just glad we weren't dating when you were kicked out of those two schools for drug possession and trafficking. My lips would've fallen off."

"A-huh. Well, good morning to you, too." Troy opened his locker and put his books inside.

"Although, back then, Shauna was doing most of the kissing, wasn't she? You remember Shauna, don't you? You were kicked out of Pembrooke in Connecticut with her for marijuana possession and then out of St. Mary's in Boston. You crazy kids never learn. Yet now, I'm supposed to believe that you knew nothing about Luke picking up steroids in TJ?" Veronica asked beyond pissed off.

"What are you talking about, steroids?" Troy asked confused.

"Don't even-" Veronica said sick of hearing lies.

"Look, look, I don't know anything about Luke and steroids. Yeah, I got busted in Boston with some dope and big deal," Troy said shrugging his shoulders.

"You got busted for drug possession and trafficking!" Veronica yelled.

"Yeah, so, that was two years before we even met. What does that have to do with us now?' Troy asked confused.

"Because you never told me about it!" Veronica cried out.

"Maybe I would've. You ever think of that? Maybe after I'd known you for more than a month, I'd tell you my deep dark secrets. Or is that too much of a character flaw? Waiting for the girl to like you before you tell her the things you're not so proud of? I don't have to tell you that. You're Veronica Mars. You know everything."

Veronica watched as Troy shook his head and walked away. She knew that she was right, that he knew more than what he was saying but what he said had hit home. She hadn't told him everything about herself either.

"Hey. I got it all. Eight grand. And a little slice of my soul," Luke said walking up behind her holding an envelope.

"Woe is you," Veronica said near tears. She walked off down the hall not paying any attention to where she was going but smacked into somebody. She looked up and tried to push by Logan but he grabbed a hold of her arm.

"What's wrong?" he asked for once sounding like he actually cared.

"Nothing," Veronica said trying to pull her arm out of his grasp.

"Veronica…" Logan said softly but paused as Veronica finally pulled herself away from him.

"Not now Logan," Veronica said feeling a stray tear fall down her face. She closed her eyes but opened them and stared him straight in the eye. "Just not now."

Logan watched her walk off down the hall and wished like hell that he could follow her and make sure she was truly alright. For as long as he could remember Veronica hadn't cried. In fact, the last time he'd seen her cry had been at Lily's funeral, where they'd both held onto each other find comfort in one another's embrace. Now he didn't have the right anymore and he wasn't sure who's fault that was anymore.

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She sat down at her usual lunch table the next day and stared out at the sea of faces of her peers. Troy had realized by now that the gig was up. She had found out about his genius plan and had tweaked it. She didn't mind him leaving anymore but she sure as hell wasn't going to let him get away with the steroids.

She saw Rebecca walking across the campus and sighed. She felt bad that her dad had felt the need to end his relationship with her guidance counselor but she also felt relieved. Her mom had called her. Granted she had told her to leave it alone but at least she called. That had to mean that she'd be coming back eventually.

"How 'bout now?" Logan asked surprising her by sitting down beside her.

"What?" Veronica asked confused.

"Yesterday you said not now," Logan said staring intently at her. She looked better today but with the rumors going around that Troy was being shipped off to boarding school today, he was sure that had something to do with the tears yesterday. "So how 'bout now? I mean if you are done grieving over losing your boyfriend, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Grieving," Veronica said smirking. "Yeah sure whatever…and I wasn't crying."

"I know I saw a tear," Logan said smirking. Veronica was back to being her usual witty self.

"What you saw and what it meant are two entirely different things," Veronica pointed out.

"Did you mean what you said the other day?" Logan finally asked getting to the point.

"No," Veronica said knowing exactly what he was referring to. "Yes." She looked away but then sighed as she looked back. "Yes I meant what I said but I shouldn't have said it."

"Why not?" Logan asked. "It's not like we've been censoring anything for the past year."

"What I said was harsh," Veronica said. "I'm sorry for saying it."

"For what it's worth," Logan said standing up. "Part of what you said was the truth."

Veronica stared at him as he walked back to his lunch table and sat down beside Duncan who was staring at her but looked away when she looked in his direction. That had been a surprise and she couldn't help but think that once again her life was about to change.

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**Please review, it puts a big smile on my face and it doesn't take that long!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everybody, I was completely blown away by the response to the first chapter. This is my first Veronica Mars story and I'm a new Veronica Mars fan so if I get anything wrong, feel free to tell me. I love the show and since it's been on such a long break I had to resort to writing my own story. I hope the second chapter is as well received. **

**Some people didn't like that I kept in some of the real dialogue from the show but it helps me keep the flow of the story since I'm trying to go along with the real episodes. I do try to add a lot of my own into it too. **

**I also love Veronica and Logan together and I'm mad that they can never be together and just be happy so know that when they do get together in my story, and they do!!!! I won't have them breaking up in the next chapter. :) That bugs me!**

**I'm also sorry about the length but I like long chapters when I read a story, instead of short choppy ones. Sorry to you who don't but I can say most chapters to this story will be long.**

**Disclaimor: I do not own Veronica Mars.**

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Logan groaned as he walked over to get the paper. He hated mornings, any mornings. Life would be much better if you could sleep in 'til noon. He also hated mornings with annoying tourists snapping pictures of him in his pajamas.

"Quite a show, huh?" Logan asked sarcastically. He looked back at his mother who was standing in the doorway. "Don't you people have lives?"

He heard the m yelling at him asking him the most bizarre questions and they actually acted surprised that he didn't answer a single one of them. He couldn't stand the his father's fans. "You don't see me poking around your trailer park, do you?" He turned and headed back towards the house and

"Hey, uh, uh, are you the son?" one voice said standing out from the others.

Logan paused and looked at his mom one more time before turning around and walking back towards the crowd at the gate. "I'm the guy telling you to get back on the bus and get out of my driveway."

"Logan! Come back in the house, honey," Lynn called from the front porch. She didn't want Logan getting into a fight with one of his father's fan.

Logan sighed as he headed towards his scooter but paused when he heard the crowd beginning to scream and he knew that his father had finally arrived. He turned to watch as his dad climbed out of the back of his car and waved at his fans.

"Hey, you guys are out early," Aaron said signing some autographs. He smiles as he poses for some pictures and that's when he spies his son staring at him in the distance. "Hey Logan. Come here!"

Logan rolled his eyes as the fans made some noise, he wasn't the famous one and couldn't they see through his father's crap.

"Get a few shots with my son, huh?" Aaron asked as he took off his sunglasses and wrapped an arm around Logan's shoulders. "There you go, smile Logan." He watched as his son smiled but it was more of a grimace. "Don't forget these folks pay for all of this huh?"

Logan stood for a couple more pictures before he made his excuses mumbling something about school as he headed back up to the house. A really big part of him didn't even want to go to school today and he wished he could call up Duncan or Dick so they could play hooky. But there was a smaller part of him that wanted to go to school. Some of the best moments in his day was when got to banter back and forth with Veronica. Go figure.

He still couldn't forget what she'd said to him. He never really thought about how Veronica felt. He'd only focused on his feelings and his betrayal.. It didn't take a genius to figure out Veronica felt the same way. Which surprised him.

Veronica had turned into such a bad ass and was a completely different person than she was before. She acted like she didn't need anybody but her father. She'd antagonized most of the kids at Neptune High that he just forgot that she had feelings and the things him and his fellow classmates did to her really did hurt her.

He didn't want to admit that he felt ashamed because he'd spent most of his life never atoning for his actions. He had a feeling that if he wanted to have Veronica back in his life, which he wasn't sure he wanted yet, he would have to do some serious groveling.

He walked into his room and looked around at the empty walls. He'd taken down every picture in his room shortly after Lily's funeral and his confrontation with Veronica. He hated looking at pictures of happier times. Now he was full of pain and anger when he wasn't feeling completely empty, devoid of any emotion. He probably needed therapy but knew enough about himself that he wouldn't take it seriously so why bother?

He opened the bottom drawer in his desk and pulled out a manila envelope that held all the pictures that he'd ripped off the wall. He'd almost thrown them all away before some sanity had interfered and he'd stuffed them into an envelope and put them away in the drawer.

The first picture he'd pulled out was coincidentally from Homecoming the year before. It was one Duncan and Lily's mom had taken and he couldn't help but laugh at the look on their faces. Boy they had loved to goof off. He found himself staring at Veronica and Lily who had their faces besides each other and were blowing kisses at the camera.

He never should have accused her of not caring for Lily. If there was one person in the world besides him who loved Lily Kane it was Veronica. They had been closer than best friends…more like sisters. Which had pissed off many 09er girls who didn't feel Veronica was at their level. It had been easy for the 09ers to shun Veronica, most of them hadn't liked her in the first place.

Back then it had surprised him that nobody liked her. She'd been cute in her own sweet and innocent way. She didn't say anything without Lily's approval but he'd seen the spark in her eyes many times when she'd bitten her tongue. This new Veronica had been waiting to come out. It was just too bad that Lily wasn't around to see her. She would have loved bad ass Veronica Mars.

He heard his mom calling him from downstairs and put the picture back in the envelope before tossing it in the drawer again. He had to get dressed and get to school. Lots of things to see and do, people to tolerate, people to annoy. His life was so fulfilling.

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"I gotta go see a teacher 'bout a grade," Wallace said standing up. He'd already stayed longer than he'd planned but he had to watch Wanda get dragged to the principal's office. His old school couldn't compare to Neptune High, he loved his new school.

"Hopefully not your English teacher," Veronica joked laughing as Wallace rolled his eyes and left her alone at the lunch table. She yawned as she hurried to finish her homework that was due later today. She'd spent the whole night trailing a cheating husband and still hadn't got the money shot. She hated cheaters.

"Aww, looks like somebody missed out on their beauty sleep," Dick said making a face.

"Go away Dick," Veronica said without looking up from her notebook. She didn't even have the energy to look up and banter with him.

"Not your best material there Mars," Dick said but he walked over to the 09er's table and took his normal seat beside Madison Sinclair.

Veronica looked up then and stared at the table of her old friends. There were days she missed sitting with them. She missed the mundane talk about unfair teachers, the newest fad and how parents just didn't understand. Now she rarely got to talk about anything that didn't have to do with cheating spouses, parole violators and bail jumpers.

"If you stare any harder they are bound to make up another rumor of how you're lusting after Duncan," Logan said leaning down so his head was right beside hers.

"Them or you Logan," Veronica said clenching her fingers around her pencil.

"I don't spread rumors," Logan said moving so he was sitting down beside her. "I fabricate them and then my minions spread them for me."

"You sound so proud of that," Veronica said making a face.

"Not proud exactly," Logan admitted after a moment of silence. "Resigned would be a better word I think."

"It's sad that you get off on making fun of other people Logan," Veronica said setting her pen down. She started getting her things together. If she hurried she could go to the library and finish the paper in silence.

"The truth is Veronica," Logan said standing up. "I don't care about anybody or anything anymore." He waited until he had her full attention before continuing. "I use to care and got smacked in the face so I decided to just quit caring. Make's life surprisingly easier."

"For you maybe," Veronica said softly. "But not to the people who still care about you."

She walked away from him and made a beeline for the library. She didn't want to sit and talk about the past with Logan. Just thinking of how things use to be and how they were now made her sad. Veronica didn't like being sad, it was easier to be angry.

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Veronica was putting the chocolate sauce on her ice cream sundae when her dad walked in and set his briefcase down on the counter.

"Hmm, all out, huh?" Keith said sighing as he sat down in his chair.

"Tough day?" Veronica asked.

"That ain't the half of it. See, this dame walks in and you shoulda seen the getaway sticks on her. Says something's hinky with her old man," he said in his Philip Marlowe impersonation.

"D'ya put the screws to him?" Veronica asked smiling.

"You ain't kidding. He sang like a canary," Keith said watching Veronica put the finishing touches on her sundae.

"Well, you're in luck, Philip Marlowe because it's dessert for dinner tonight and I've got a whole sundae thing set up here," Veronica said motioning to the ice cream fixings she had set out onto the counter.

"You know, if Child Services finds out about this, they will take you away," Keith said walking towards the counter.

"Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take," Veronica said as she took a huge bite of her sundae.

"Honey. Shouldn't we try something at the base of the food pyramid, you know, fruits and vegetables?" Keith asked.

"What is that?" she asked gasping. She picks something out of the bowl and smiles. "A maraschino cherry?"

Keith rolled his eyes but started scooping ice cream into his bowl. Sometimes just going along with his daughter. He'd learned early on that you had to pick your battles with Veronica and this was definitely one to drop.

He was about to say something when he heard the announcer on the TV bring up the Lily y Kane murder case. He knew he couldn't shield the constant footage of the grisly murder from Veronica but that didn't stop him from wishing he could. He walked over so he was standing by Veronica who was sitting in the chair staring at the TV. He listened for another moment before shutting off the TV. He couldn't handle listening to anything that had to do with the case.

The Lily Kane case had destroyed his life. He'd given that case everything he had, followed every clue even when it made him the bad guy. He'd pursued every lead and even went after one of the most influential people in Neptune. In the end he'd lost his job, his wife and his home. But the biggest loss was watching his daughter lose her friends and become the town reject. He hated that case.

"Why did he do that?" Veronica asked quietly watching as her dad walked back into the kitchen.

"Guess he's ready to die," Keith replied finishing making his own sundae.

"Well, what are you going to do about it? You don't believe he's guilty…" Veronica said slowly.

"I hate to break it to you, honey, but nobody in Neptune cares what I believe in. They didn't care when I was Sheriff, they sure as hell don't care now. This town's gonna have to find another conspiracy nut," Keith said frustrated because he was still interested in the case and he still had his own theories about what went down at the Kane mansion that day.

Veronica watched her father walk into his bedroom and shut the door. She sat in the chair without turning the TV back on and finished her ice cream. She knew her father was still bitter about being kicked out of office and she didn't blame him. She wished she knew more about the case so she could help him. She just felt so useless right now. And she hated feeling useless.

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Logan sat at the 09er lunch table but his eyes were on Veronica who was sitting with Wanda recording whatever the dumb outcast had to say. He couldn't stand some of the kids in this school. Actually, he couldn't stand any of the kids in Neptune High. He could count on one hand the number of people he really gave a shit about and most of them weren't even sitting beside him at the moment.

Number one would always be his Mom. She was the only person in his current life who listened to him and cared. Yeah she stood by and let his dad punish him in ways the law would frown upon but she also was the one that spoke of leaving him one day. Not that he honestly believed her but it was nice to think about.

Number two would have to be Duncan. They had their issues and problems but in the end they had each other's backs and that would never change. He still remembered the first time he'd met Duncan and how he'd stopped everybody from harassing the 'new kid'. From that moment on they'd been best friends.

Number three was surprisingly Veronica. He'd tried to take her off the list all year but she kept ending up back in her spot. She'd been the only person to not treat him special because his father was Aaron Echolls, she'd actually said so what when somebody had told her. He'd been enthralled by her ever since.

When he saw her get up and start walking up he grabbed his books and hurried to catch up to her in the hallway by the journalism room. "So what'd Wanda have to say?" he asked smiling when she glared at him.

"Just her reasons for running," Veronica said walking faster.

"And…" Logan said.

"If you're that interested you can read about them in tomorrow's paper," Veronica said stopping at her locker.

"You don't think she's actually going to win do you?" Logan asked smirking when Veronica finally turned so she was facing him.

"Why do you care what I think?" she asked confused. "You've never cared before now and I don't understand…understand you." Veronica hated that the words she'd been practicing for days failed to come at the moment she needed them most. "Yes I think Wanda stands a chance in the election."

She opened her locker and was about to say something else when she saw the envelope sitting on top of her stack of books. It was a normal envelope, nothing sinister about it but Veronica had a sense of foreboding as she picked it up.

"She's not going to win," Logan was saying when he saw her freeze and stare at an envelop in her locker. "What's that?"

Veronica jumped, she'd forgotten he was there and grabbed the envelope before she slammed her locker door. "It's nothing," she muttered. When she would have walked away Logan stopped her by wrapping his hand around her wrist. "Logan…fine…Wanda doesn't stand a chance. Your precious Pirate Points won't be going anywhere." When he still held onto her wrist she sighed. "Can I please go now?"

Logan nodded as he let go of her wrist. He watched her hurry off down the hall but didn't move from where he was standing. He was worried about her, which surprised him. If there was one thing he had thought before this moment it was that Veronica could handle herself. He saw Dick waving at him from down the hall and he headed towards his friend, pushing the thoughts of Veronica on the back burner for now.

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Veronica didn't get a chance to open the envelope until that evening at the office. She'd been distracted by Duncan announcing his candidacy. She'd never seen him as a politician and couldn't imagine him wanting to do this. She hadn't been surprised to find out he'd had nothing to do with it. Those damn 09er's would do anything to keep those Pirate Points.

She pulled the envelope out of her bag and stared at it again, wondering who'd put it in her locker. She finally opened the seal and pulled out the photograph that was inside. She gasped when she saw a picture of her Mom. It had to be a current picture because her Mom looked different, older somehow even though it'd been a year. She looked like she was sleeping or at least Veronica prayed she was asleep. She couldn't imagine the other possibilities at the moment.

She flipped the photograph over and took a deep breath when she read the words on the other side. **Leave it alone…** Leave what alone? Lily Kane's murder? Her mom's disappearance from her life? What exactly was she suppose to leave alone?

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Veronica sat outside with Wallace talking about the votes yesterday and how Wanda was going to win. "In a way, it's a little sad. You know, the end of an era. Wanda wins and no more Pirate Points. No more lunch delivery." She grew quiet as did the rest of the student's as Principal Clemmons voice came over the intercom.

"Attention students. The results of the election have been tabulated. There will be no runoff votes in any of the races."

"Thank god," Duncan said clearly relieved.

"The winner in the office of secretary, Bryan Gibson, Vice President, Katie Keenan. And it gives me great pleasure to announce, the 2004-2005 SCA President, Duncan Kane," Clemmons said surprising everybody. There were few cheers but lots of boos.

"That's how it's done!" Logan said standing up to gloat.

"That's a steaming crock, Clemmons," Corny said ticked off.

"There's no way Duncan Kane could have carried half the student body," Wallace said confused.

"Now I've got a story," Veronica said staring at the 09er table where everybody was high fiving each other.

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Veronica had taken most of the day getting Mrs. Donaldson to let her review the ballots and finally was able to review them because of Mallory. She was probably the one of the few teachers at Neptune who wasn't corrupt yet.

"What'd you get?" Veronica asked as Wallace finished running the last of the ballots in the counting machine.

"Duncan still wins with 743 votes. How many times are we going to run it?" Wallace asked getting bored.

"No sign of anyone erasing ballots. No ballots missing," she said confused. Hey. Student 43059. Who the hell is candidate E and why did you vote for her?"

"You think I'm not voting for the sister? And for what possible reason do you have my student ID number memorized?" Wallace asked smirking. They all looked up as Mrs. Donaldson walked into the room.

"You can toss those ballots in the recycle bin when you're done uncovering "corruption," she said making air quotes. She turned and walked out of the room. Wanda makes a face at her retreating back.

"What?" Veronica asked confused.

"What is it?" Wanda asked.

"Well if "Wanda rulez," why'd you vote for Duncan, you head case? I wanna find out who this kid is and what art room he voted in," Veronica said handing the ballot to an offended Wallace.

"Yeah, and I want a statue of myself in the main lobby, holding a musket, staring down danger," Wallace said taking the ballot from her hand. "Since we're talking about stuff we want."

"Please?" Veronica asked smiling sweetly.

"How hard was that?" Wallace asked walking over to the office computer. "Kevin Carney. He's got art first period."

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Veronica walked into the apartment and set her bag down on the counter. It had been a long day with solving the case of how Duncan won. Who would have thought Madison could have thought up such a brilliant plan? If Veronica didn't hate her so much she would have applauded the ingenuity of it.

She filled a glass with water and grabbed her bag heading back to her room where she shut the door. She sat down and pulled out the two photo's for two separate cases. The first was of her Mom and she took a deep breath before turning to look at the other one.

Lily's bedroom. The one place Veronica had spent the most time with Lily. It made her sad to see the room again but it also made her that much more determined to solve the case. She had to find out who had killed Lily.

She enlarged the photo focusing in on one particular item. Lily's white shoes with the heart on them that she herself had drawn. She pictured the day so clearly smiling when she remembered how disgusted Lily had been when she'd read Duncan's name instead of Logan's.

How could those shoes be in the crime scene photo of Lily's room and in the footage of Abel Koontz? That was the so called evidence they had to convict him of the crime? None of this made sense. Able Koontz really wasn't the man who'd killed Lily. She'd hoped he was and that it was finally over but it wasn't. It was only just beginning.

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"I'm gonna kill whoever did this!" Wanda yelled slamming her fist against her locker.

"They're just posters. You still own the message," Veronica said smiling sadly. She hated that people were attacking Wanda just because she had the clear shot for the win.

"They're not just posters. They spray painted "Narc" on the hood of my car," Wanda explained pissed off.

"You know they only chose the word "narc" because it would hit closest to home with your constituency," Veronica pointed out.

"I shouldn't find that comforting. But I do," Wanda said calming down.

"Well, why don't you come over tonight and we'll make new posters. And I'll get some puffy paint and an Avril Lavigne CD and it'll be just like our pep squad days," Veronica said in a fake peppy voice.

"Awesome," Wanda said playing along clapping her hands together like they use to do when they were cheerleaders. She struck a perky pose making Veronica laugh.

"Okay, don't do that," Veronica said before watching Wanda walk away. She had a guy to see about a smear campaign that was wrong.

"Bravo, Logan. It's a new low. And just when the critics were having some doubts," Veronica said walking over to Logan who was sitting in the journalism room with Duncan.

"Mmm. Must be talking about your, uh, narc friend, W-W-W-Wanda," Logan said looking at Duncan before answering her. He laughs but stops when Veronica just stares at him. "Well, isn't it time that you found another bad guy?" When Veronica just continues to stare at him he gets serious. "Look, I just don't…have time to be responsible for every little thing that goes wrong in your life."

Veronica doesn't know what to believe but watches him walk away to the other side of the room and walks over towards Duncan. "So, was it your idea or did you just play it your usual way?"

"What's my usual way?" Duncan asked confused.

"Oh, you know, Duncan. You don't initiate trouble. You don't initiate much of anything anymore," Veronica said slowly pausing when she realized what she was saying.

"Don't stop there, Veronica. Say it. What's my usual way?" Duncan asked glaring at her.

"You stand idly by," She said enunciating every word. She stares into his eyes before walking away leaving him staring after her. She hated calling him out but it was time for him to open his eyes and see what was happening right in front of him. The old Duncan Kane wouldn't have watched somebody get attacked like his friends were doing right now.

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"Hey, Dad," Logan said walking into the living room of the Echoll's mansion. He'd known as soon as Dick had shown him the video of the Bum Fight that he'd be having it out with his father. "What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep. What with the phone ringing every five minutes," Aaron said standing up and started walking towards Logan."Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, E! Any guesses what they wanted to talk about? My charity work? No. My latest Christmas movie? No." He places his hand heavily on the back of Logan's shoulder and turns so he can wrap his arm around his son. "They wanted to talk about my son's latest opus. Skid Row Boxing." Aaron bends his hand so it's on the back of Logan's head.

"Look, Dad, I, uh…I didn't know what-" Logan said putting his hands on his forehead.

Aaron grasps the back of Logan's neck. "I have to say that your performance was really impressive. The way you play the ungrateful son determined to humiliate his father was utterly impressive," he said getting louder after every sentence until he was yelling at the end. Aaron flings Logan across the room and Logan lands face down on the sofa and scrabbles around to face his father, still half-lying across the sofa.

"Do you have any idea what you just cost this family? Of course you don't. You never had to work for anything in your life. Now, tomorrow, after school, you're going to get your first lesson in public relations," Aaron said glaring at his son. "Logan. Don't you ever embarrass me again."

Logan watched as his father walked away and he took a moment to steady his breathing before he pulled himself into a sitting position. He'd gotten worse before, much worse. At least tonight his mom wouldn't have to bandage any cuts or anything. No tonight he'd just have to calm his racing his heart and lock his bedroom door. Not that a locked door could keep his father out of his room if he was determined to get in.

He finally stood up and started walking towards the stairs so he could get some peace but he heard footsteps coming down the hall. He closed his eyes expecting another attack from his father but sighed in relief when he smelled his mother's perfume.

"Logan," Lynn said softly walking into the room. "Why do you insist on riling him?"

"Riling him," Logan said laughing but it was definitely without humor. "Is that what I'm doing mother?"

"Bum Fights Logan?" Lynn asked clearly exasperated. "It's like you're begging him to punish you. If you'd just listen to me and stop these shenanigans-"

"You know mom," Logan said beyond frustrated now. "I agree that it was a bad idea to host a Bum Fight but I don't agree with you when you say I'm begging him to punish me. I don't beg for anything, least of all to have my dad whip me or throw me across a room."

Lynn stood there watching as her son walked away leaving her to shut off the light and walk quietly back to the master bedroom. She wished she knew how to talk to Logan about his antics and how to talk to her husband about his ideas of punishment. Both of them were so similar she wished they'd both see it.

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Veronica was handing out bumper stickers to her fellow classmates and smiled when she saw Weevil walking towards her. "Weevil, put one on the back of your bike," she said holding out a Go Wanda sticker.

"Naw. I'm not going to vote for that narc," Weevil said shaking his head.

"Come on, Weevil. You know better than to believe everything you hear at this school. That's just dirty politics," Veronica said smiling.

"You might want to explain that to Felix. Somehow the sheriff found out that all the "Welcome to Neptune" signs are hanging up in his bedroom, a week after he hooks up with your girl Wanda. Now how did that happen, huh? Now homeboy's got four weekends of highway clean up," Weevil explained before he raised his eyebrows as he walked into the school.

Veronica slowly lowered her hand that was holding the Go Wanda stickers. She hadn't known Weevil that long but for him to have such strong convictions against somebody, at least part of what he said had to be true.

She walked into the school and spied Wanda walking a little ahead of her. "Hey, superstar. Are you nervous?"

"I'm so embarrassed, but yes," Wanda said.

"Well, I think we should celebrate this weekend. Win or lose. I heard about this rave out in the desert. And we can make it if we leave directly after school tomorrow," Veronica said.

Bitchin'. I'll tell my mom I'm spending the night at your place. Do we need any…provisions?" Wanda asked slyly.

"Provisions? With a capital E, absolutely. But I know a guy," Veronica said dropping the bait.

"Oh, jealous. Wish I knew a guy," Wanda said giving her the victory sign.

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"Hey Veronica. Deputy wants to inspect your locker," a fellow student said handing over the slip from the office.

Veronica sighed. "You'd think I'd quit being surprised at finding a knife in my back," she said softly as she headed out of the classroom towards her locker.

"Ah, Veronica Mars," Deputy Sacks said from in front of her locker.

"We meet again," Veronica said sarcastically.

"The Sheriff's Department has asked me-" Clemmons said starting the long speech he always had prepared for moments like this.

"I could just give you my locker combination, save us all a lot of trouble," she said opening her locker. She watches Sacks search her backpack and smiles when he pulls out a "Cat in the Hat" red and white striped hat.

"Nothing," he said shrugging his shoulders.

"There's a couple of suckers," Veronica said smirking when she saw she had their attention. "In the bag if you want one." She watches them walk off down the hallway as Mrs. Donaldson comes over the PA system.

"This is Mrs. Donaldson, the student council advisor. I'm pleased to announce that the winner of the student council presidency is…Duncan Kane," she said.

Veronica watches as the cliques either cheer or boo and move on their way. She sees a despondent Wanda in the distance and hurries to catch up with her. "Wanda! I guess we're not going to that rave in the desert but I do have a pretty good idea of where you can stick these."

"You don't understand," Wanda said quickly.

"You're right. I don't. Why don't you explain it to me?" Veronica asked glaring at her.

"I got busted last year for possession. This was the only way that they would keep it off my record. I'd never get into Williams with a drug charge on my file," Wanda explained clearly expecting Veronica to accept her explanation.

"So you were willing to wreck my future to save your own," Veronica said in disgust.

"Veronica! This wasn't just about getting into college. If I would have won, I would have done what I promised. We would have changed the way things work around here," Wanda said loudly as Veronica started to walk away.

"You know what," Veronica said turning to hand the stickers to her. "No hard feelings. I didn't vote for you."

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Veronica walked towards her car having just finished listening to Duncan's acceptance speech for president. Maybe he really would change how some things ran at Neptune High but until she actually saw the changes, she wasn't buying it. She'd been stabbed enough in the back.

"Hey Veronica," Logan said falling into step with her. When she didn't say anything to him he sighed. "Look I'm sorry about yesterday, I was in a bad mood and it had nothing to do with you."

"Doesn't matter Logan," Veronica said reaching her car. She tried to open her car door but Logan leaned back against it making her efforts fruitless. "I have places to be."

"Not until you accept my apology," Logan said smirking.

"Fine," Veronica said rolling her eyes. "Apology accepted. Can I go now?"

"Now don't you have something to say to me," Logan said without moving.

"Get out of my way," she said slowly talking to him like he was dim witted.

"Not exactly what I was looking for," Logan said thoughtfully.

"Logan Echolls," Veronica said through clenched teeth but she stopped and took a deep breath. He obviously wasn't going to move until she said what he wanted to hear. "I am sorry for what I said."

"Now I'm going to accept that apology even though I can tell you didn't mean it," Logan said stepping away from the car so she could pull the door open. "But just so you know, it wasn't me who started that rumor. No, I jumped on the bandwagon when I found out it was true but I didn't start it."

"Doesn't matter," Veronica said tossing her bag inside her car. "Turned out it wasn't just a rumor."

"Yeah," Logan said nodding his head. "Isn't it sad when you realize somebody isn't who they pretended to be."

Veronica looked at Logan surprised at the dig. He'd been nice the past couple days, well maybe not nice but he wasn't publicly putting her down anymore. She'd almost begun to believe that he was going to change and stop harassing her. "Real nice Logan," she said climbing into the driver's seat.

"Just telling it like I see it Veronica," Logan said walking backwards so she could pull out. He watched her drive away and headed towards his own car. He also had someplace he had to be. Like the family doctor, a big fan of Aaron Echolls, who looked the other way whenever Lynn brought Logan in for an appointment. Damn he hated his father.

**Please review, it made my day when I got all the reviews for the last chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody!!!! I am so sorry for falling off the face of the planet but I have been strangely incapable of focusing on writing any of my stories. Plus with Veronica Mar's future being undecided I'm feeling uninspired. But I'm trying!!!!! I finally forced myself to sit down and finish this chapter. I hope you like it. **

**Disclaimer: I do now own Veronica Mars!**

**Dialogue borrowed from 1.07 The Girl Next Door**

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Veronica walked across the apartment complex carrying her laundry basket headed towards the laundry room. "Hey Rocky," she called out to the guy cleaning the complexes pool.

"Hey Veronica," Rocky said smiling at her.

Veronica finally reached the laundry room and smiled at her neighbor Sarah Williams and her dog Killer. She hadn't known her long and she wouldn't call them close friends but laundry room buddies. "Hi, Neighbor," Veronica said noticing the tears.

"Oh, hey Veronica," Sarah said blinking back the tears.

"Are you okay?" Veronica said concerned for her laundry room buddy.

"Yeah," Sarah said wiping away a stray tear. "Fine."

Veronica walked into the laundry room so she could set her basket which was anything but light down. She walked out carrying some books along with her.

"Oh, your Snow Patrol CD. I'll get it back to you, I swear, I've just been so into it," Sarah said remembering the CD she'd borrowed awhile ago.

"I know. I can hear it through the ceiling," Veronica said smiling.

"Oh, god, you can hear us fighting, can't you? I'm sorry," Sarah said getting upset again.

"What was the fight about?" Veronica asked decided against pretending she didn't hear the yelling and crying.

"Oh, it was nothing," Sarah said lying badly. She picks up some of her laundry in one hand and Killer in the other and starts walking away but Veronica follows.

"You're right, it's not my business," Veronica said still curious about the fight that had finally took her mind off of Lilly's murder and her mom's disappearance. She'd been stressing over every little detail, especially now that she'd filled her dad on her ongoing investigation. She wanted to solve the case more than anything and bring her mom back home.

"No! It's just stupid, I...my journal's missing. I think he took it," Sarah said in a rush. She laughed sounding more embarrassed than happy and headed towards her basket on the patio table.

"Really?" Veronica asked sitting down at the table.

"Yeah. He somehow got it into his head that I have a thing for my boss," Sarah said sitting down slowly with one hand on her pregnant belly. "Suddenly, the journal disappears. Sort of my diary-slash-sketchbook. But it's got some way personal stuff in there."

"I hope it turns up," Veronica said distracted when Killer barked. "Hey, Killer! Do you mind if I…" She motioned towards petting the Chihuahua.

"No, go ahead. He lives for the attention," Sarah said smiling as Veronica picked Killer up and cradled him in her arms.

"You are so lucky he's your dog. I would immediately put him in a little sailor's outfit," Veronica said smiling.

"Veronica, can I ask you a favor? I have a doctor's appointment Tuesday morning. I'm getting some test results," Sarah explained looking a little nervous.

"Do you need a lift?" Veronica asked.

"Maybe some hand-holding," Sarah admitted.

"Of course," Veronica said smiling at her. She opened her mouth to say something else but froze when she saw Logan walking towards her. "Great," she muttered under her breath.

"So this is the new Mar's residence," Logan said looking around at the apartment complex. "Interesting…so it's like a bunch of houses right next to each other."

"Funny," Veronica said making a face. She looked at Sarah who was standing up. "You don't have to go, really. Logan can't help himself, he's handicapped."

"No I should go," Sarah said taking Killer from Veronica. She smiled politely at Logan who watched her head back to her apartment.

"Nice going," Veronica said staring at Sarah's retreating back. She could add neighbor to list of things to watch now. That list was getting long.

"What'd I say?" Logan asked smirking as he sat down beside her. "So I was thinking…"

"Should I be afraid," Veronica said standing up so she could get back to doing her laundry.

"Haha," Logan said rolling his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"My laundry," Veronica said transferring the clothes from the basket to the washing machine. "What does it look like?"

"I've just never seen somebody my age doing laundry," Logan said staring at her.

Veronica looked at him before answering. "Some of us don't have a maid Logan. Some of us barely get by and are happy when we have soap to wash our clothes with."

Logan took a deep breath. "Veronica," he said softly. "I don't want to fight or say things we don't mean anymore."

"I mean the things I say," Veronica said coldly. She started the washing machine and went to walk around him but he stood in her way.

"I don't know who you are anymore," Logan said glaring at her. He paced away before whipping back around to face her. "Who in the hell are you?"

Veronica stared at him in surprise. She'd seen him mad before, mad at her before but she'd never seen him this upset. Not since the night he'd found out Lilly was dead. He'd all but screamed at God to give her back before collapsing into Veronica's arms in tears. They'd both shed a lot of tears that night. Two weeks later he wouldn't talk to her anymore and they'd started the who hates the other person more

"I'm still Veronica," she said softly.

"No you're not," Logan said shaking his head. He started walking away but turned around and added somewhat sarcastically. "I just wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out like we use too…in the old days."

Veronica watched him walk away surprised that she wanted to call him back. He was right in a way, she wasn't the Veronica he knew. No that Veronica had to been stripped away after she woke up one morning sore, sick, and without her underwear. She couldn't be that innocent naive Veronica anymore. She'd been replaced with the new pessimistic, tenacious but most importantly angry Veronica.

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Veronica sat at the computer, taking a break from her current project. She can't get Logan off her mind, or really what Logan had asked. '_I just wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out like we use too…in the old days." _After the past year she'd never pictured him saying those words. She'd held out hope for Duncan but never Logan.

"Let's see, Carrie Ann Leskey went on to be Miss California. Of course, then she went on to gain forty pounds," Evelyn said walking into the room behind Mrs. Dent. "Oh, and Jake Kane. Big computer mogul and I sat next to him in typing. Surprisingly slow, typing-wise. He's a brilliant man. Ronald Tulan, of Tulan Motors. Are you married because I hear he's separated now?"

Mrs. Dent looked around, Evelyn was driving her nuts. She looked at all her students but the most promising one was Veronica. "Veronica? Just the girl I was looking for." She walks over and sits down on the desk next to her. "I'd like you to meet Evelyn Bugby."

"Oh, aren't you cute?" Eveylan said patronizingly.

"Evelyn is from the Alumni Association and she's looking for some help putting together a photo display for a class reunion," Mrs. Dent explained.

"Oh. If only I had the spare time," Veronica said regretfully but the look in her eyes showed her merriment at Mrs. Dent's expense.

Evelyn grew bored and turned around looking for another person to talk to. "Bob Patton, is that you?"

Mrs. Dent held up a yearbook." Class of '79. Think of all the bad clothes you can mock. Velour shirts. Platform shoes," she said enticingly.

Veronica stared at the book for a moment contemplating. She really didn't need anything else added to her already full plate but she wanted her hands on that yearbook. "Um, okay. I'll do it."

"Great! Your first assignment is to scan and print all the photos Mrs. Bugby tabbed," Mrs. Dent said relieved. She glanced back at Evelyn and started pleading. "And please. Keep her away from me."

Veronica doesn't see that she has already failed Mrs. Dent as Evelyn follows her out of the room. She is examining the yearbook. Class of '79, her mother's class. Lianne hadn't kept her yearbooks or if she had, she's never showed them to Veronica. She opened the yearbook and turns the pages looking for her mother's photograph.

"Yo Veronica," Wallace said walking into the room. He made his way over to where she was sitting and looked down at the yearbook. "Woah, look at those hairdos or should we said hair don'ts?"

Veronica looked up at him and smirked. "Somebody's been watching the style channel again."

Wallace rolled his eyes. "My mom likes to watch it."

"Sure," Veronica teased flipping another page. She could hear Wallace talking but she didn't hear him as she stared down at the open book. Her mother, she'd forgotten how beautiful she was. Even in a little black and white photograph, you couldn't deny her beauty.

"Earth to Veronica," Wallace said sticking a hand in front of her face. "Veronica?"

"What?" Veronica asked breaking out of her musings. She looked up at Wallace who was staring down at the book.

"That's your mom," Wallace said nodding towards the photo.

"Yeah," she said softly looking down at the book.

"You look like her," Wallace commented nudging her shoulder as he said it.

"I know," Veronica agreed. She stared down at the photo and added softly. "Lianne Reynolds, most likely to disappear off the face of the Earth."

"Veronica," Wallace said but stopped when she closed the book with a snap. She stood up and grabbed her bag.

"So you needed something," Veronica said changing the subject. Wallace watched her start walking out of the classroom and shook his head. When was that girl going to let him in even a little bit?

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Logan sat in Mr. Daniel's classroom dealing a game of solitaire while he tried desperately to ignore the gang leader sitting beside him. He was already mad that he had detention, his father wasn't going to be happy. Now he had to spend more time with this lowlife.

"You know what I love? I love that I get a zero for talking, when you were the one who was talking to me. You get detention for dissing the teacher in front of everybody. And I get detention for laughing. Let me ask you something, man," Weevil said pulling his desk closer to Logan.

"Is this detention or hell?" Logan asked looking up towards heaven.

"How do you people not make yourselves sick? I mean, it's like you walk on water in this school. For what? It's nothing that you do. I mean, all that matters is who your parents are and the zip code your mom shot you out," Weevil complained.

"And if I donate to the United Latino Pain-in-the-Ass fund, will you shut the hell up?" Logan asked glaring at him.

"You like playin' wit' yourself?" Weevil asked smirking.

"Huh?" Logan asked confused.

**"**Or you wanna make things interesting?" Weevil offered looking at the cards.

"What did you have in mind?" Logan asked but picked up the cards so he could shuffle. He dealt the cards and leaned back in his seat. "So Weevil is it?" he asked knowing the answer. Weevil just stared at him he rolled his eyes. "What's the deal with you and Veronica?"

"What's it to you?" Weevil asked sidestepping the question.

"You seem close," Logan said looking at the cards in his hands.

"We help each other out of jams," Weevil said shrugging his shoulders.

"Jams," Logan said sarcastically shaking his head as he made his first move in the game.

"It's something friends do, you know," Weevil said glaring at the 09er.

"What in the hell do you know about being a friend?" Logan asked trying to look like he wasn't listening intently. He knew Veronica was close with the gang leader, the only reason is he didn't know was why.

"I sure as hell know more about being a friend to that girl than you do," Weevil said throwing his cards down, forgetting about the game. "I use to watch Veronica when she was one of you guys. Or I should say pretended to be one of you. She dressed like an 09er, talked like an 09er, and acted like an 09er. She never was one though. You assholes proved that when you dropped her when Lily died."

"We didn't drop her," Logan denied standing up in anger. He needed to do something before he punched him and got another week's detention. "She went after Duncan's dad and when we asked her to stop she walked away."

"Like she had a choice," Weevil said standing up slowly. He knew he was getting to Logan but nobody had chewed his ass yet for the way he'd treated Veronica the past year, it was past time somebody did. "Veronica stood by the Sheriff and thank God she did because as far as I can see, he's the only one who deserves her blind faith."

"He accused Lily's Dad!" Logan yelled looking around to throw something.

"Who could have done it!" Weevil yelled right back. "Lily certainly hated him enough."

Logan froze and turned to stare at the biker. "How in the hell do you know that?"

Weevil stared Logan straight in the eye as he lied. "Veronica told me. We've talked some."

Logan stared at Weevil for a moment knowing deep down that he was lying. But for the moment, he had to accept what Weevil said because he had enough to deal with without adding beating the crap out of a gang leader to his list. He sat back down as the classroom door opened and Mr. Daniel's walked in. He leaned back and prepared himself for another lecture about how he would amount to nothing. It was the only thing that was constant in his life, being a lazy 09er rich kid.

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Veronica sat down at the table in her journalism class and put her head in her hands for a moment. She was still trying to process what Logan had said to her about wanting to hang out like they use to. She had no idea why he all of a sudden wanted to be friends again. She couldn't help but think that it was going to be an 09er trick with her being the butt of the joke.

Veronica shook her head and decided to focus on one problem she could solve. "Sarah, it's Veronica again. Please give me a call when you get this, I'm just getting a little worried." She shut her phone and set it down worrying over Sarah's whereabouts. She sighed as she opened the 1979 yearbook and started flipping through the pictures.

"Yikes," Logan said standing behind her staring down at the yearbook pages. "What were they thinking?"

Veronica nodded her head in agreement. "I just hope twenty years from now, we don't look back and think of these years being the best of our lives," she said referring to the page that stated _these were the best years of our lives._

"God no," Logan said shuddering. He hated to think that high school was it. The only time he'd look back and be happy. Considering he spent most nights wasted so he didn't have to live in the now.

"I believe the people that say high school is the best years of their life are usually on the yearbook staff. I just pray that bake sales and pep rallies aren't as good as it gets. And that the prom isn't the most magical night of my life like it was for this golden-" Veronica said sarcastically but froze when she saw the prom king and queen.

"Is that-" Logan said leaning down so he could see better.

"My Mom," Veronica said still in shock.

"And Duncan's dad," Logan said making a face at the caption _Love is Thicker Than Water._

"Oh my god," Veronica said before shutting the yearbook. She tried to remember any moment that Jake and Lianne had spent together that she'd witnessed but she couldn't. Except for a month ago when she took that picture of Jake Kane in a hotel room with her mother's car parked outside. "Okay ew."

"They were a couple," Logan said still shocked.

"A serious one," Veronica added shaking her head. She sat there for another moment before one thought invaded her mind. Did Duncan know?

"Hey do you think Duncan knows?" Logan asked at the same time.

They both looked at each other before Veronica led the way out of the classroom. It took them another five minutes before they found Duncan sitting outside at an empty table staring off into space.

"Duncan," Logan said breaking into his best friends thoughts.

"Logan," Duncan said looking up at his friend but froze when he saw Veronica standing beside him. "And Veronica."

"I've got a little Neptune High trivia for you," Veronica said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah?" Duncan asked still confused as to why Logan was with Veronica.

"Did you know that your dad and my mom were King and Queen of the prom?" Veronica asked staring intently at Duncan's face. When he just stared at her she continued. "Which, I guess, means they were like a couple or something. Did you know about that?"

"Uh, no. It's weird, huh?" Duncan asked standing up.

"Just a little," Veronica said confused. She'd expected something more than a dead stare.

"What if they had gotten married?" Logan asked the one question both of them were trying not to think about. "You would have been related."

Veronica opened her mouth to say something sarcastic but Duncan lost all color in his face and hurried away, leaving his books at the table. Veronica couldn't help but remember the year before when he had just stopped talking to her without even a hint to as of why. Now she couldn't help but think he knew something she didn't. His running away today just made her want to dig deeper.

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Veronica walked outside carrying the journal a triumphant smile on her face. She turned to Weevil who was standing right behind her. "Thanks for this, I couldn't have done it without you."

"Your welcome," Weevil said but still stood there staring at her.

"You need something?" Veronica finally asked.

"You and Echolls," Weevil said slowly causing Veronica to freeze in place. "You got something going or had something going?"

"No," Veronica exclaimed.

"You were friends," Weevil pointed out.

"A long time ago," Veronica said turning away and walking towards her car. She could feel Weevil's eyes still on her and sighed. "I don't know if we were ever friends."

"He asked about us," Weevil informed her smirking when she got pissed.

"Asked about what!" Veronica said loudly. "God the nerve of him, I told him to leave me alone and what does he do, bother the people I actually consider my friends."

"I never knew you thought of me that way V," Weevil said smiling when she glared at him. "If you want me to give him the message I'd be happy too."

"No," Veronica said after a minute had gone by. She would love to see Weevil go at it with Logan again but he honestly hadn't done anything that bad. She could handle Logan.

She nodded one last time in Weevil's direction before climbing into her car. She had a journal to read so she could find Sarah.

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Veronica walked along the coastal town looking at all the parked cars license plates. She finally found one that said Ohio and looked inside. Someone was definitely living inside she thought taking in the pillow, blanket and empty drink cups. "Bingo," Veronica whispered before looking around spotting the person she was looking for. "Sarah?"

Sarah looked up as she closed her journal with her pencil still inside. She was sitting in a collapsible chair against a small stand overlooking the beach. She stands when she sees Veronica. "You found me."

"Everyone's worried about you," Veronica said softly.

"Are my parents here?" Sarah asked looking afraid of the answer.

"Yeah. They're back at the apartment," Veronica admitted hating to be the bearer of bad knows.

"I'm gonna miss all this," Sarah said softly looking back out at the ocean.

Veronica smiled gently as she moved to sit beside Sarah's chair. "We don't have to go quite yet." She sat their silently as Sarah took her seat and waited patiently as Sarah got situated before she spoke again. "You're very brave Sarah."

"What are you talking about?" Sarah asked confused. "I ran away as soon as I found out Andre had called them. I mean, I know he was just trying to help but I just couldn't deal with it."

"I know," Veronica said nodding her head.

"You can't know," Sarah said wiping away the tears as they started to fall.

"You told somebody," Veronica said after a moment had gone by. "You knew on some level that you had to tell somebody."

"I couldn't tell the people I should have," Sarah argued softly.

"I did," Veronica said softly. She could tell Sarah was staring at her and she shook her head hating herself for bringing up the one thing she could barely cope with on a good day. But Sarah needed to know that she was brave. "I told somebody in authority and he didn't believe me. I couldn't tell anybody after that. It's my own personal demon that I fight every day."

"Oh my God Veronica," Sarah whispered horrified that this strong, confident girl had been brutalized in such a way.

"I can't tell anybody," Veronica said after another uncomfortable silence had gone by. "My father would kill the guy if he found out and I don't have any friends to tell. Except you." Veronica looked at her then letting her know with her eyes that she considered her a friend now.

"Do you know who?" Sarah asked slowly.

"No," Veronica admitted quietly. "I was drugged and woke up the next morning…well you know." Sarah just nodded and they both sat their silently for another hour both battling their own demons and both taking comfort in the fact that they weren't alone.

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Veronica sat outside the school rehashing in her mind everything that had happened in the past 48 hours. She still couldn't believe the things she'd found out about Sarah and how much they'd ended up having in common. Not that they were good things they had in common. Veronica was sad to see Sarah go back home with her Mother but knew it would be the best thing for the both of them.

"Hey Superfly," Wallace said sitting down beside her.

"Hey," Veronica said smiling at him. Wallace was a good friend and maybe someday he'd be a best friend. But she couldn't confide in him yet. He had most of innocence left and Veronica couldn't be the one to destroy that.

"What are you writing?" Wallace asked motioning toward the notebook Veronica had out in front of her.

"My thoughts," Veronica said looking back down at the notebook she'd bought earlier that day. If there was one thing she'd learned from Sarah was writing down what she felt was a good outlet for her pain and anger. She couldn't tell anybody yet but she could work her way through it by herself.

"Veronica Mars has a journal," Wallace said shaking his head. "Who would have thought?"

Veronica just smiled but wasn't capable of bantering back and forth with him today. She had a lot weighing on her mind but the biggest problem taking up most of her thoughts was Logan. She'd heard from Weevil that he'd also taken the fall for their prank against Mr. Daniel's. Weevil would be back in school in a week and Logan would be back in three days. The punishment still wasn't fair but that wasn't Logan's fault.

He was trying, that wasn't the only step he'd taken. He hadn't spread any new rumors as of late and he wasn't leading the normal Pick on Veronica tribe. No Madison Sinclair had taken that job on but Veronica could handle Madison. Her car had also mysteriously stopped getting flat tires and her locker hadn't had anything spray painted on it in awhile.

Veronica looked down at her cell phone that was sitting beside her notebook and sighed as she picked it up. She dialed his number before the courage she had disappeared and sighed in relief when his voicemail picked up. She rolled her eyes when she heard his inspirational message and cleared her throat knowing Wallace was listening intently to her.

"Hey it's Veronica, I just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out like we use to…in the old days." She hung up the phone and felt a strange sense of peace. Logan had taken the first step by issuing the invitation, she was just going to take him up on it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everybody!!! Sorry for falling off the face of the planet but I have been beyond busy. I'm sorry it's been so long but I promise that this story is still going strong. I have it all planned out. I just don't get to update as often as I like. But I will FINISH it. I swear!!!! Especially now that the shows done, this is the only entertainment I get. :( **

**There is a story that has inspired me to write more often and if you aren't reading it, you need to start. It's called Drunk Logan and it's by obsessedlikeneverb4. It is my favorite Veronica Mars story right now and she updates everyday almost. So read it if you aren't already. :)**

**I hope you like this chapter! Read and Review please!!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Veronica Mars, if I did, we'd have a fourth season!!!!**

Veronica sat at her favorite spot on the beach, nervously waiting for Logan's arrival. It had taken him two days to acknowledge her message and they'd both decided on neutral territory for their first day hanging out together.

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't worried. Things have been less than ideal with Logan but lately something had changed between the two of them. It had started with the video of Lilly. It seemed he was finally done blaming her for Lilly or at least starting to let it go.

"Is this seat taken?" Logan asked before he dropped down beside her. He'd been watching her for the last ten minutes from his Xterra parked in the parking lot. He'd been nervous after they'd made the decision to meet at the beach that night but now, as he sat beside her, a strange sense of familiarity settled over him.

"Now it is," Veronica said lightly. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye before turning to look back out at the ocean.

"I almost didn't believe it when I got your message," Logan said finally sifting sand through his hands.

"I thought you changed your mind when it took you two days to answer my message," Veronica said a slight bite to her tone.

"I didn't know what to say," Logan admitted after a moment had gone by. When she turned to look at him he shrugged his shoulders self consciously. "I know I asked you first but I don't know…I guess a part of me never thought you'd say yes."

"I wasn't going to," Veronica said softly. "This past year has been hellish enough with you being the ring leader of most of the pranks. But something's been different about you lately. The Logan I remember started to show himself more often than Jackass Logan."

"I have been a jackass," Logan agreed.

"But I've been a bitch," Veronica said nudging him with her shoulder.

"I started the make Veronica pay crusade though," Logan said picking a rock out of the sand to throw in the ocean. "I was so angry at you when your Dad went after Jake Kane. That family was already in so much pain without an investigation going on in their lives."

"Being in the Mars family wasn't a picnic either," Veronica said bitterly remembering the months after Lilly's murder.

"I can honestly say I didn't even realize what was going on outside of the Kane's pain and my own," Logan said truthfully. "All I saw was your Dad and you going after Jake."

"I didn't go after Jake," Veronica said glaring out at the water.

"No, but you didn't say anything to your dad either," Logan pointed out.

"You're right I didn't," Veronica said nodding her head. "But not because I thought Jake did it, but because I trust my Dad Logan. He has some pretty damning evidence."

"Has?" Logan asked confused.

"Had," Veronica said quickly.

"He's still investigating isn't he?" Logan asked staring at her.

Veronica sighed. "Yes we are but he has his reasons and I have mine."

"You are investigating Lilly's murder," Logan said dumbfounded. "I knew you were doing some investigative work for our fellow students but a murder Veronica? Besides, Abel Koontz did it, he confessed."

"Maybe he did," Veronica said knowing deep down that she didn't believe it for a second.

"Jake Kane did not kill Lilly," Logan said slowly as he stood up.

"I don't know who killed Lilly Logan," Veronica said standing up also. "But I am going to find out." She didn't wait for him to say anything else. She was a girl on a mission and nobody was going to stop her.

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Veronica stared down at the two photographs in front of her. She'd been sitting at her desk for an hour contemplating the next step she should take. There was only one man who could tell her the truth about the photographs and only one man could get her in to see him.

She waited impatiently for Cliff to arrive and the meeting didn't last long. He didn't want to help her but she'd been ready for that. But when all was said in done, people rarely said no to Veronica Mars. She couldn't figure out why.

She was still trying to figure out a way to guarantee Able Koontz would see her but was getting nowhere fast. So when she walked back to her gym locker and her clothes were gone she only had herself to blame. She'd learned early on to never let her guard down at school anymore. Her fellow classmates were quick to take advantage of her.

"Where are my clothes?" Veronica asked the girls standing in the same locker bay. When nobody answered her she asked again more impatiently. "Where are my clothes?" She wasn't surprised when their only response was to walk away smirking so she went on a clothes hunt and groaned when she found them soaking up toilet water.

"Veronica, did you find your clothes, yet?" Meg asked walking up behind her but freezes when she sees the clothes in the toilet. "Ugh, the people can be so awful here."

"Well does this towel make me look fat?" Veronica joked even though nothing about the situation was funny.

"You need something to wear?" Meg asked wanting to do whatever she could to help her old friend.

Veronica sighed and looked back down into the toilet. It's not like she had much of a choice at the moment. She couldn't exactly take her clothes out of the toilet and dry them with the hand dryers. "Yeah," Veronica said softly. "That'd be nice."

Veronica wanted the ground to open up and suck her in as she walked out of the school ten minutes later in Meg's cheerleading outfit. It had been over a year since she'd hat to wear one and she could have gone another hundred years before wearing one again.

"I usually have sweats in my locker. Sorry," Meg said sheepishly.

"No, this is perfect. I just have to resist the urge to do a cartwheel," Veronica said sarcastically. She glared at the kids who were currently whistling and making rude gestures to her. Sometimes she wished she would have switched schools back when her father had offered.

Meg looked back at her normal 09er lunch table and bit her lip before she offered something she knew would be turned down. "Why don't you come have lunch with us? You're already dressed for the occasion."

Veronica glanced back at the same table and rolled her eyes. There was no way she would ever sit at another 09er lunch table again in her life. "I think I'm gonna go straight home and change but thank you for this. Really." She listened as Meg made a noise but she just hurried toward the parking lot and sighed in relief when she saw her car in the same condition it had been in when she'd parked it earlier that morning. No mysterious flat tires or words carved in the paint job.

"Veronica?" a voice asked from behind her.

"Oh God no," Veronica said closing her eyes. She was beyond mortified now. She turned around slowly 'til she was staring at Logan who was gaping at her, his mouth hanging open in a very unflattering way.

"What are you wearing?" Logan finally asked finding his voice.

"Meg's cheerleading uniform," Veronica said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Dare I ask the question why?" Logan asked finally wearing his trademark smirk that she hated.

"My guess is you probably know the answer," Veronica said glaring at him. She turned walking towards her car but couldn't leave without saying one last thing. "I know you hate me again and I know that I am wasting my breath asking you for anything but I have to ask you for this." She took a deep breath before looking him straight in the eye. "Would you please not tell anybody what I told you last night?"

"You mean-" Logan started to say but Veronica interrupted him.

"Yes," she nodded quickly looking around to see if anybody was paying attention and of course, everybody was staring at her. "Just please don't tell anybody."

Logan nodded but this time he turned and walked away from her. She watched him for a couple seconds before she heard another catcall and hurried to her car. She wanted to believe Logan, to trust that the fact she was investigating Lilly's murder on her own wouldn't be making it's rounds around the school by the end of the day. But the truth was, she didn't trust Logan Echolls anymore.

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Veronica sat in the audience watching Meg sing onstage and she wanted to smack the audience members who were calling her names. How could they ever believe that Meg had done anything on that purity test? Veronica sat there remembering the first conversation she had with Meg over the dumb test.

Veronica knew when she walked into the school the next day that shit had literally hit the fan at the school. Everybody was yelling at each other and if they weren't yelling they were weeping. It was truly the most pathetic thing she'd seen…until she saw Meg. She waited until her boyfriend walked away before joining her at her locker.

"_I-I didn't even do anything," Meg said tears falling from her eyes._

_  
'I know." Veronica said nodding her head._

_  
"You believe me?" Meg asked shocked._

_  
"Meg, you're the last good person at this school. I'd believe cartoon birds braided your hair this morning," Veronica said grinning when Meg cracked a smile. "If you want, I can find who posted that test for you. We'll clear your name and make somebody pay."_

_  
"Really?" Meg asked hopefully._

_"Unless there's a fairy godmother already on it," she replied smiling a her friend._

Veronica still couldn't believe that somebody out there was trying to ruin Meg's reputation. Meg had never done anything to anybody in this school. She was probably the nicest person in Neptune and somebody had decided to make her life Hell. That person would pay greatly for it.

Veronica swore quietly when Meg ran off stage, the insults had gotten cruder and Veronica smacked one of the guys across the head before following Meg out of the auditorium.

"Life is so not a cabaret," Veronica tried joking but it fell on deaf ears.

"I can't take this anymore. This is too much. Everyone thinks I'm the biggest slut in school," Meg cried wiping her eyes. She froze though when she saw Veronica's locker. It had the number 14 painted nice and big.

"We-," Veronica started to say but also froze when she saw her locker. "Well, second biggest."

"Veronica," Logan said walking up to the two girls but paused when he saw what they were looking at. He'd heard the rumor as soon as he'd gotten to school but couldn't find Veronica to warn her in time.

"I'll talk to you later Veronica," Meg said glaring at Logan.

He watched her walk away before turning back towards Veronica who had her arms crossed over her chest and was also glaring at him. He bit his lip trying desperately to think of anything to say.

"I'm surprised it took you and your minions this long to further demolish my reputation," Veronica said coldly. She opened her locker and exchanged the books in her hand for her next class.

"Could it be any more demolished?" Logan asked but wanted to smack himself for sticking his foot in his mouth once again.

"Good point," Veronica said rolling her eyes. "So what do ya need Logan?"

"I just wanted to talk to you," Logan said slowly. "You know, about the other night."

Veronica looked around to see if anybody was listening in and took a deep breath before looking back at Logan. "It was a mistake Logan. A dumb stupid idiotic retarded-"

"I get it…a mistake," Logan said shaking his head. "But-"

"No buts Logan," Veronica said simply. "We never should have…tried to be what we once were. It's never going to work. You are…the new you and I don't even know who in the hell I am anymore."

"Veronica,' Logan said softly.

"We can't go back to those two people Logan," Veronica said just as quietly. "You were right Logan, I'm different. I'm not that Veronica anymore." She nodded when he just stared at her and walked away from him, towards her next class. She didn't see the look of defeat that came over his face or the look of anger that replaced it when he saw the number on her locker.

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Veronica hung up the phone after receiving the phone call from the jail. She hadn't known for sure if pretending to be Ellen White would get her a visit but she had been willing to try anything. She set her phone down and looked down at the photograph of her Mom and the photographs of herself. They were taken by the same person, that much she could tell. The only difference that she could tell was she had a rifle scope around her head.

She wasn't sure what she was suppose to take from the photo of her Mom. Was it a threat? Were they hoping she'd stop digging because of a photograph? It had obviously worked with her Mom. She'd run, the pictures of Veronica had obviously played a part in her taking off.

"Veronica," Keith said walking into her room.

Veronica through her comforter over the photographs praying he hadn't seen them. She'd been so distracted from the phone call that she hadn't even heard him come in. "Yeah Dad?"

"What's this Purity Test?" He asked holding up her test results she must have left out somewhere.

Veronica closed her eyes as she explained. "Somebody thought it'd be funny to take the test for me and embellish a little bit."

"A little bit?" Keith asked slowly.

"Okay so a lot," Veronica said rolling her eyes. "Seems I don't have too many friends at the school so when something like this Purity Test pops up, they have to make my life hell. You know, normal high school stuff."

"Veronica…" Keith said softly. He'd known high school wasn't exactly a safe haven or anything but he hadn't realized it'd gotten this bad.

"Dad don't," Veronica said smiling at him. "It's nothing I can't handle."

"You shouldn't have to handle stuff like this," Keith said throwing the test down in a momentary display of anger. Normally he could control it until he was in the privacy of his bedroom but not when he read some of the things her classmates had said she'd done. "Has it been this bad all year?"

"All year," Veronica said shaking her head no. "Of course not."

"Just most of it," Keith said staring down at his daughter. At times like these it would be easy to take her word for it and drop it but he knew that she couldn't be that flippant all the time. "You'd tell me if somebody ever stepped pass the line of just spreading rumors wouldn't you?"

Veronica looked away as the mental image of Shelley Pomroy's party flashed through her mind. She'd never be able to tell him about that night. A year might have gone by but to her father, it would have been like just last night. "Of course Dad," she said praying he didn't pursue it anymore.

"Because you don't have to deal with it Veronica," Keith insisted. "This is a form of harassment and we could put a stop to it."

"They'd still find a way," Veronica said softly. "It's okay…I'm okay. My skins pretty thick these days Dad."

She watched as her Dad left her room and sighed in relief. She wouldn't have been able to lie anymore for him. Her Dad was the one person who had stood by her through everything and it killed her to keep something from him. But she couldn't trust him not to do something stupid if he ever found out.

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"Ten bucks a pop, man. Somebody's getting rich. I know some kids who have ordered dozens," Mac said shaking her head.

"Did you order any?" Veronica asked curiously.

"Think that I have ten dollars to spare? You've seen my car, right?" She asked rolling her eyes and smiling.

"Can you email me the dummy corporation info anyway? There might be something," Veronica asked grasping at straws. She didn't know how she was going to fix Meg's reputation. She watched Mac strike some keys before taking Mac's seat to access her own account and stares at the computer in confusion. "The computer won't let me access my account."

Mac leaned over Veronica's shoulder and tapped a few keys to bring up the details. "Somebody's logged on as you right now." She stroke a few more keys. "It says they're on a computer in the journalism room."

The bell rang as they raced to the computer room but by the time they got there, the room was empty. Veronica looks around the room until she spots a computer that's still live and sits down before it.

"So how hush-hush are the contents of your mailbox?" Mac asked from behind her.

"Just homework and class schedules. Anything on the QT, I keep in my personal email, not my Neptune- Oh god," Veronica said beginning to feel sick.

"What?" Mac asked leaning closer.

"My outbox. There's an email from me to my ex-boyfriend," Veronica said softly.

"Duncan Kane?" Mac asked smiling when Veronica looked at her in surprise. "You used to be all anyone gossiped about. You still are, just…in a different way. So what does it say?"

"Dear Duncan. I want you to know that I still love you very much and I think about you constantly. Every time I see you, my heart breaks. I need to tell you that when we were dating I had," Veronica paused before continuing in horror, "VD! I hope you didn't catch anything from me…" She turned so she was facing Mac. "Am I naked, because in my nightmares, I'm usually naked."

They both jumped slightly as the computer made a noise. They looked at each other after reading the instant message from the screen name Froggy asking 'where'd you go?'

"Someone wants to chat with whoever's pretending to be you," Mac explained.

"They think I'm still whoever was on my account," Veronica said the wheels in her mind beginning to turn.

"But the bell's rung. They'd know that whoever it is would have left for their next class," Mac said confused.

"Unless they're not at school," Veronica said smirking. She started typing as she asked, "Can you get a password for me?" Mac does quickly and efficiently. "Another one? We have all the information we need." She stands up and hurries out of the journalism room with Mac trailing behind her.

"We do? Wait, Veronica. Who is Froggy, do we know? Who's Froggy?" Mac asked chasing after Veronica.

Veronica slowed down so Mac could catch up. "There's only one frog at this school who knows everyone's password. I just have to follow him and I'll find out who his partner is."

"You are good," Mac said smiling and nodding. She'd heard about Veronica's detective skills but had yet to see them up close.

"All in a days work my friend," Veronica said before heading out of the school. She wanted to solve this case and fix Meg's life so she could take another step in her case against Lilly's killer.

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Veronica stood in the hallway at Neptune High waiting impatiently for the person who had tried to wreck Meg's life and further destroy Veronica's. She jumped when somebody tapped her on the shoulder. "Dammit Logan!"

"I said your name like three times," he said holding his hands up. When she just went back to staring down the hall he tried to step in front of her so she would be staring at him. "Veronica-"

"Logan this will have to wait," Veronica said stepping around him. He turned and followed her wanting to find out who had her trademark I'm pissed off smile aimed at them. "Hey, Kimmy, check this out. I followed our IT guy around last night. Guess where he ended up?"

"Oh my god," Kimmy said horrified.

"I heard the purity test website is gonna start posting pictures to illustrate the questions. Wouldn't these be perfect?" Veronica asked holding up the photographs she'd taken the night before. She stars flicking through them, Kimmy's face getting more and more pale. "Look. Number 23, have you ever touched it? Well, I guess you have. This here's a stellar example of number 78 and this one, whoa, I think my score went down just looking at that. Although it would be hard to score below a 14, wouldn't it Kimmy?"

Logan was silently laughing as Veronica humiliated Kimmy as she showed picture after picture of her less than stellar reputation. He couldn't believe that Veronica had stood outside the car taking pictures just so she could have this moment. Although, it was a pretty sweet moment.

"Why are you doing this?" Kimmy asked glaring at her.

"Because you messed with the wrong person. You don't even know me and you posted that test for me," Veronica said beyond ticked off.

"No, I didn't," Kimmy said shaking her head.

"Stop lying. I know you got my password from Renny. You know, he's 23, you're seventeen. I don't think they allow conjugal visits in prison," Veronica said smirking when her face got even whiter.

"Please, it wasn't me," Kimmy insisted.

"Then who was it?" Veronica asked coldly.

"It was Pam. Pam posted the test for you. She hates you because Duncan is still hung up on you. I only posted Meg's, I swear," Kimmy said quickly.

"Why would you do that?" Veronica asked wondering how she could humiliate Pam later.

"She gets everything I want. Everything. The lead in the musical, cheerleader, the anchor job," Kimmy whined sounding like every other spoiled 09er Veronica hated dealing with.

"Thanks, Kimmy," Veronica said smiling. She pops open her locker and takes out the video camera she'd stored earlier.

"What did you-" Kimmy said confused but then realized what the video camera meant. "Oh God!"

"So, your boyfriend was the one running the purity test website, right?" Veronica asked glaring at her.

"No!" Kimmy cried out.

"Kimmy, why do you insist on pissing me off? You and Pam aren't smart enough to pull that off," Veronica said insulting her even further.

"Seriously! He didn't even know why I wanted the passwords. I don't think he even knows the purity test exists," Kimmy said seriously. She watched as Veronica frowned and turned to walk away with Logan following her. "Wait, what are you gonna do with that tape?"

"That was…" Logan said when Veronica entered the empty journalism room. "The most entertaining thing to watch all week."

"She had it coming," Veronica said sitting down at her computer.

"Oh definitely," Logan agreed smiling. "So do you normally take pictures of two people going at it in cars?"

"Nope, it's usually hotel rooms," Veronica said softly.

"So what's next on your agenda?" Logan asked finally when he realized she wasn't going to say anything else.

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked looking at him.

"That can't be the end to your plan," Logan said motioning towards the hallway.

"I'm going to show the video to Meg," Veronica said slowly.

"Ronnie…Ronnie…Ronnie," Logan said shaking his head. "You must want to get Pam for taking that test for you. Plus, the whole school should hear that Kimmy took the test for Meg."

Veronica stared at him for a moment wondering where he was going with his comments. He was right, she wanted to get both girls back for their stupid prank but she was at a loss for once. "What do you have in mind?" she finally asked smiling when Logan grinned at her. She, for once, wasn't at the receiving end of that smile.

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"So…" Logan said standing beside Veronica's car at the end of the day. She opened her car door and tossed her bag over towards the passenger seat. "We make a pretty good team."

Veronica smiled as she remembered the morning announcements. Logan's plan had been ingenious, the perfect way to get both girls back and let the whole school know how wrong they had been about both girls.

"It was your idea," she said shrugging her shoulders.

"True," Logan said nodding his head. "But it was your video and Meg's ability to look shocked on camera when it started rolling. She'd be a good actress someday."

"She's too pure to be an actress," Veronica said softly.

"She's not the only one," Logan said staring at her intensely. He had paid ten bucks to read Veronica's Purity Test score and had known after the first five questions that if she'd taken the test herself, she'd probably have gotten a 95 or even higher.

"Well, some of us don't know how pure we really are," Veronica said cryptically as she climbed into her car.

"Veronica," Logan said confused. What in the hell did she mean by that?

"Logan I have to go," Veronica said putting her key in her car.

"Is it another case?" Logan asked hopefully. "Because I could probably be of some assistance. I was for your last one."

"You want to assist with this one," Veronica said shaking her head. She turned the key so the Lebaron sputtered to life.

"It's about…Lilly isn't it?" Logan asked leaning down in the doorway.

"You don't believe me Logan," Veronica said glaring at him. "You are just like everybody else in this stupid town. Believing whatever Lamb tells you and his Deputy Dumbasses." She was still going on staring at her steering wheel when Logan walked around the car, opened the passenger door and climbed into the car as he tossed her bag in the backseat.

"What are you doing?" Veronica asked loudly staring at him in shock.

"Going with you," Logan said simply. He put his seat belt on and held his tongue before he insulted her car again. He knew money was tight for her and didn't want to put her down anymore. Even if it did remind him of a tin can.

"I didn't invite you," Veronica said slowly.

"I know," Logan said trying to get comfortable. "I invited myself."

Veronica opened her mouth to say something but just shook her head. She didn't have time to argue with him and he obviously wasn't going to change his mind. She just closed her door and pulled out of the parking lot. They made the drive in silence and she stopped at a gas station and grabbed a bag out of her trunk.

"Where are you going?" Logan asked confused.

"I have to change," Veronica said wondering how she was going to explain the clothes to him. It was from her old wardrobe, the one that had gotten boxed up and put in storage after they'd moved to the apartment. These were clothes from the old Veronica.

Logan stared at her when she walked out ten minutes later looking like Veronica from over a year ago. He couldn't help but be reminded of how attracted to her he use to be. She looked so sweet and innocent and like the girl he'd had a crush on for years. But when she climbed into the car and warned him not to say anything he swallowed. She may have changed her clothes and hair but her personality was definitely the same.

When they pulled up to the prison and Veronica put her visitor's pass on the dashboard so you could see it through the windshield he started to question what they were doing.

"What are we doing here?" Logan asked staring at Veronica who was trying really hard not to meet his gaze.

"I have a meeting," Veronica said as if it was normal to have a meeting at a prison.

"With who?" Logan asked his voice oddly calm for the anger he was starting to feel running through his veins.

"Able Koontz," Veronica said quietly as she climbed out of the car quickly.

"You have a meeting with a man who may have murdered our best friend!" Logan yelled climbing out of the car.

"Yes," Veronica said staring up at him. She had known he wouldn't be pleased but she had to do this. She had to talk to Abel and find out why he confessed to a murder he couldn't possibly have committed.

"What are you thinking?" Logan asked throwing his hands up in the air.

"That the only way I am going to know if he did commit a murder is to ask him in person," Veronica said trying to step around him.

"I'm going with you," Logan insisted.

"You can't," Veronica said surprised to find she wished he could. She wasn't looking forward to this meeting. He could very well have killed Lilly, even though she was pretty sure he couldn't have. The facts just didn't add up. "I'm the only one who's been approved."

"Dammit Veronica," Logan said pissed off.

"I won't be long Logan," Veronica said calmly. "I have to do this. I have to know and I can tell if he's lying." She stared at him for another moment before walking past him towards the prison entrance. She couldn't remember what they had her do before they led her to the visiting room. She sat down in front of the glass divider and picked up the phone.

He looked the same as he did when they arrested him. Except he was in the jump suit. "Ellen. Well aren't you a breath of fresh air," He said grinning.

"I want to thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Mr. Koontz," Veronica said using a fake accent.

"It's always nice to chat with a hometown girl. Do you ever get back to good old Stallingsburg for the pear blossom festival?" He asked politely.

"You mean apple blossom," Veronica corrected him.

"Of course," Koontz conceded.

"Just bought my tickets for May," She lied.

"You know, you remind me of someone. How old are you, Ellen?" Koontz asked curiously.

"Twenty-two," Veronica lied again. She didn't know what game he was playing but he was making her uneasy,

"She must have been the same age when I knew her. Hmm. I shouldn't bore you with ancient history. Now, what shall we chat about?" He asked sitting back like he was getting comfortable.

"Well, I found these photographs online," Veronica said holding up the photographs of Lilly's shoes. "I think they could prove you didn't take Lilly's shoes the night of the murder. It might be enough evidence to get you a retrial."

"Now why would I want a retrial when I could have all this?" Koontz said sounding serious instead of sarcastic.

"Somebody had to plant those shoes on your houseboat. You never saw Lilly Kane in your life. Why would you confess to killing her?" Veronica asked genuinely confused.

"So you're one of those. What will it take for Keith Mars to let sleeping dogs lie?" Koontz asked smiling evilly. _"_Do you wanna know exactly how I bashed your friend's brains in?" Veronica stared at him in horror, he'd obviously figured out who she really was. "Oh. I know who you are, Veronica Mars. I knew your mom when she used to visit the office during lunch hours."

"I don't believe you," Veronica said shaking her head even though a part of her knew he was telling the truth.

"You're a very dedicated young lady. Certainly you didn't inherit that quality from poor scattered Lianne. Unfortunately for you, that makes you your father's daughter," Koontz said patronizingly.

"My dad tried to save your life," Veronica said confused.

"I meant your real father," Koontz said smirking. "Think about it Veronica. Look in a mirror. Are you the product of a schluppy sheriff or the king and queen of the prom?"

Veronica stared at him in shock. Koontz just sat there satisfied and smiled. He couldn't be telling the truth, she was a Mars. Her Dad was her Dad. Wasn't he?


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow another update and you didn't have to wait a month!!! Yeah me!!! So I hope you like this chapter. I couldn't make up my mind on some things but I think I finally got it right. So I hope you like it.  
**

Logan kicked the rear tire on the Lebaron as another minute went by. He couldn't believe he was standing outside of a prison, an actual prison, and he didn't even get to make off collar jokes to any of the inmates. No instead he got to stand outside like an idiot while the girl, who may or may not be his friend, talked to a man who may or may not have murdered their best friend. Was their life a soap opera or what?

He was still trying to process the fact that Veronica was investigating Lilly's murder in the first place. He'd thought about it at first. When Mr. Mars had gone after Jake he'd decided that if the law wasn't going to find the real murderer, he would. But then Don Lamb had become sheriff and he'd followed the evidence straight to Abel Koontz and the crime had been solved.

He could still remember the night of Koontz's arrest. He'd gotten so wasted that night, Duncan had had to bring him to the emergency room because he'd become unconscious. For a long time he wished that he'd just stayed on the bathroom floor of Duncan's house and never gone to the hospital. Life would have been a lot easier.

He never even thought that Koontz might not have done it.

Logan went to kick the tire again but stopped himself when he saw Veronica walking towards him. She'd gone into the prison looking slightly uneasy but determined. But looking at her now, she looked horrified.

She was deathly pale and she didn't look to steady on her feet. She was staring right at him but Logan was positive she didn't even see him. She had a death grip on her bag and she kept swallowing like she had to get a bad taste out of her mouth.

"Veronica," Logan said slowly taking a step towards her. He watched as she walked around him and to the driver's side door. He was still staring at the spot she'd just been standing in when her car roared to life. He hurried to climb into the passenger seat and looked at her nervously as she gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Are you okay?"

She didn't answer, didn't even look at him. She was staring out the windshield at something or maybe nothing. Whatever she'd found out in that meeting with Abel Koontz had shocked the life right out of her. Logan wasn't sure he wanted to know if it had something to do with Lilly.

"Veronica," he said again but this time she moved but not to look at him.

She blinked her eyes a couple times before putting the car into gear and backing out of the parking space. Logan looked around nervously but it looked like she could drive pretty well while looking like a zombie. She'd just pulled onto the highway when the first tear fell. Logan felt his heart sink, he hated tears. The only time girl's resorted to tears was to manipulate or to guilt you into doing something. But he had a feeling Veronica was crying for an entirely different reason.

"Ronnie," Logan said reaching his hand over to touch her shoulder. He didn't know the right question to ask. He could ask what had happened but he still hadn't decided if he wanted the answer. He'd tried asking if she was okay but hadn't received an answer. Do you want to talk just sounded dumb when she obviously didn't want to talk. The only thing he could do was let her know he was there.

Logan braced his hands on the dashboard as Veronica roughly pulled the car onto the side of the road. She barely had her door open before she was puking onto the gravel. Logan leaned over to help her but she hurried out of the car, falling to her knees as she started dry heaving.

Logan threw open his own door and hurried around the car. He hesitated for a moment but took a deep breath as he crouched down to wrap his arms around her shoulders. They may have been taking the first steps towards friendship but this was their first official test. The old Logan would have stood back and watched Veronica lose all the food she had consumed that day and the old Veronica wouldn't have let Logan near her when she was looking less than her best.

"Oh God," Veronica finally said after a couple minutes had gone by with know retching. She'd been on auto pilot since she'd left Koontz sitting smiling in front of the window. When she'd walked out of the prison to see Logan standing by her car she'd focused on him until she reached the car. She knew he'd tried talking to her but she hadn't been able to form a sentence let alone a clear thought in her own head.

But now sitting on the side of the road with Logan's arms wrapped around her, she knew that it was time to say something. Logan wasn't going to just let this go. She just didn't know what to tell him. The truth or to make something up. She wasn't ready to deal with the fact that her Dad might not be her Dad, let alone talking about it with something else.

"What happened Veronica? What did Koontz say?" Logan asked mentally preparing himself for the worst.

"He uh…he said…" Veronica said scrambling for anything that would get Logan off her back. But for once she couldn't think of a single lie.

"What?" Logan asked his voice taking on a colder tone. He knew she was trying to think of what to tell him and what to keep from him. He hated that he hadn't been in on that meeting. He should have just paid the prison guard to let him in too. Money always talked to those who didn't have it. How much could a prison guard actually make?

"He told me who my father is," Veronica finally said her voice so quiet,

Logan had to strain to hear the words coming out of her mouth and even once he did he didn't understand what he was hearing. Koontz told her who her father was? Veronica knew who her father was. All of Neptune knew who Veronica Mars father was. "What?" he finally asked confused.

"Koontz told me who my father was," Veronica repeated but then she shook her head clearing the fog that was threatening to take over again. "Or who my father might be."

"You need to start talking clearly Veronica," Logan said rolling his eyes. She wasn't making any sense.

Veronica took one last deep breath before standing up with Logan's help. She knew she should pull away and stand on her own because like it or not, Logan most likely wouldn't be standing there tomorrow. His attention span was like a two year olds. But she didn't want to stand on her own. The past year she'd stood with her Dad but in her daily life, it was like standing on her own.

"What do you mean he told you who your father is?" Logan asked when she didn't say anything.

"What do you think I meant?" Veronica asked her annoyance clear in her voice.

"Koontz told you that your Dad was your Dad," Logan said uncertainly and when she closed her eyes and let out an annoyed little huff he rolled his eyes. "I told you it didn't make sense."

"Well duh Logan," Veronica said opening her eyes to stare into his. "Koontz wouldn't have told me Keith Mars was my father because clearly, that's what we all believe."

"Who did he say?" Logan finally asked realizing what she meant.

"Jake Kane," Veronica said barely spitting it out before she bent at the waste feeling the urge to throw up again. Every time she thought of Jake being her father it made her sick. Not only because it would change her life but because of who his son was. Duncan was her ex-boyfriend. They'd gone to second base together and now they might be brother and sister. It was wrong! If they'd known they should have said something sooner.

"No way," Logan said shaking his head. She couldn't even be thinking what he thought she was thinking. There was no way Jake Kane was her father. She was a Mars. "There's just no way."

"You can say it but it doesn't make it true," Veronica said wondering how she'd become the reasonable one. It was her life that was destroyed and Logan was the one in denial.

"How can you even think that Jake Kane is your father?" Logan asked glaring at her.

"Because it might be true!" Veronica yelled tears flooding her eyes.

"Do you want it to be true?" he asked confused. He thought she loved her father but maybe the thought of Jake's millions had changed her mind.

"Of course not," Veronica said the tears beginning to fall. "I love my Dad. He's the only constant in my whole fucked up life and now who the hell knows what he is." She paced away angry that he'd made her say what she'd been trying not to think about. "Besides, why in the hell would I want to be a Kane? Look what happened to Lilly, why would I want that?"

"Jake Kane did not kill Lilly," Logan said hating that she kept implying otherwise.

"All I know is Abel Koontz didn't," Veronica said no doubt in her mind about that one.

"Why because he told you who your father is in one breath and denied killing Lilly in the next?" Logan asked sarcastically. Now that he thought about it why should they believe anything Koontz said?

"He never denied killing Lilly," Veronica said watching as Logan threw up his hands in anger. "But that's why I know he didn't do it. He was so quick to change the topic, to make me think about something else. He didn't want to discuss the murder because he doesn't know what happened that night. He wasn't there."

"So he confessed because…" Logan said wanting to hear the rest.

"I don't know yet," Veronica said. "But I'm going to find out why."

Logan wanted to say more but the sheriffs car that pulled up behind them changed his mind. Now wasn't the time but soon enough he was going to sit her down and try to explain to her how crazy she sounded. Abel Koontz had killed Lilly, she needed to accept that. She needed to drop the idea that she would find out who had really killed Lilly so everybody could move on.

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Veronica sat on her bed later that night staring down at the photographs that she'd found in her Mom's possessions. She'd forgotten about them earlier but now she had so many thoughts running through her head she didn't know which one to answer first.

She couldn't help but wonder if her Dad knew that Jake was her father and that's why he'd gone after him so obsessively because he knew Mom had an affair with him.

Then there were the photos. They had been sent to her Mom for a reason. Her face framed in a gun sight was a good way to stick it to her Dad.

Whatever reason there was, it was time to find out who'd taken the photos. 'his one was taken last year, downtown. My sole reason for being in that part of town was that Mom insisted I see a counselor after Lilly died. Every Thursday for six weeks, Dr Dave and I stared across an ottoman at each other. But which Thursday?' Veronica thought staring at the photo in question.

Veronica looked closely at another photograph and behind her there is a sign that says 'Neptune High School Book Week. "Book week," Veronica said out loud. "When was book week?"

The next day Veronica found out from Mrs. Murray that Book Week was always in February. So she'd gone to where the picture had been taken and she'd figured out where the photographer must have been sitting. Turns out it was none other than Clarence Wiedman Jr. Head of Security for Kane Software.

'And there it is. I know who's responsible for scaring Mom away. So if Jake Kane is my biological father that information is gonna be worth millions. And after what that family has done to mine, I intend to collect,' Veronica thought as she sat staring at Kane Software. Now she just had to figure out how to go about finding out if Jake Kane was her father.

Veronica walked into the apartment later that night and watched as her Dad ran up to her excited about something. But she looked at him in concern when she saw he was limping and sporting a nasty cut under his right eye and on the side of his nose. "What happened to you?"

"It's nothing. A little collision at home. Now, cover your eyes and give me your hand," he said taking her hand in his.

"A collision at home? Did you fall in the garbage disposal?" Veronica joked.

"No, no, home plate," Keith said imitating an umpire. "Safe!"

"Did you see a doctor?" Veronica asked smiling.

"Honey, it's fine. Chicks dig scars, now come on. Ya gotta see this," he said jumping up and down and claps before his bemused daughter. He hurries back towards her bedroom and Veronica stood in the living room wondering how hard he hit home plate.

"What is your deal? You're jacked up like some hillbilly kid who just stumbled into Daddy's meth lab," she said chuckling.

"Hey, come on," Keith said racing back to grab her hand. He held her other one up in front of her eyes and pulled her towards the bedroom. Once their inside he pushed her one the bed. "Sit!"

Veronica sat down on her new bed and nearly fell back as the bed adjusted to her weight. She heard it slosh and her eyes opened really wide. "Whoa!"

"It's a water bed," Keith said still excited.

"All right," Veronica said a little confused as to why she had a waterbed in her room.

"Come on, you've wanted one of these things since you were, like, five years old," Keith said his excitement starting to wane.

"I also wanted to marry Vanilla Ice and build the world's largest collection of Z-bots," Veronica pointed out.

"You asked me, no, you begged me for a water bed like four years in a row. It was your obsession," Keith said crouching down in front of Veronica.

"Uh-huh. It's all coming back to me now. The way you explained it, Santa was cool with the basic concept, but had grave doubts about second floor deployment," Veronica said smiling at the memory.

"That well known, bed-rock pragmatism of elfish culture. But I gotta tell ya. If it had been my call, I would've-" Keith said but was interrupted by Veronica.

"You're so full of it. But…it is incredibly sweet of you. Yard sale, right? Ten bucks maybe," Veronica said laughing.

"No," Keith said slowly.

"It's okay. You forgot to remove the masking tape price tag sticker," Veronica said ripping off the piece of tape. Keith slapped his hand on his head. "Besides, our money situation being what it is, I'm glad you didn't blow your wad on a whim gift for me."

:Well, you'll be even gladder to know that I got us a throw in with some old Gordon Lightfoot LPS," Keith said.

"I love you," Veronica said seriously. She leaned forward and hugged Keith who looked a little taken aback.

"Yeah, you too. Well, anyway, sorry it took so long to get Santa's old dead ass in gear. Night, sweetie," Keith said hugging her back.

"Night," Veronica said watching as he left. She fell back on her waterbed but was up again when her cell phone started ringing. "Hello?"

"I tried calling you today," Logan said forgoing pleasantries. After the way they'd left things the day before, he didn't want to waste time with inane conversation.

"I was busy," Veronica said softly. She knew why he was calling but she didn't want her Dad to overhear her.

"Did you ask him?" Logan asked curiously.

"Ask who?" Veronica said confused.

"Your Dad," Logan said.

"Of course not," Veronica said loudly but then she quieted as she added, "I can't just go up to him and be like 'hey Dad do you know if I'm your daughter or Jake Kane's'. He would flip."

"Or he may admit he knows the truth either way," Logan pointed out.

"I can't ask him Logan," Veronica said softly.

"Okay then what do you want to do," Logan said not pushing her any further. Just because he'd tell the whole world that his father might not be his real father doesn't mean she feels the same way. She actually liked her Dad.

"I got a blood test kit and an address that will do paternity testing for a price," Veronica said surprised to find out that she was relieved that she had somebody to confide in. She was glad she didn't have to face this alone. Even though it was Logan her tormentor, he'd changed lately. She just hoped that Monday morning the whole school wasn't discussing her parentage.

"What do you need me to do?" Logan asked He couldn't explain why he decided to be there for her. It was almost like he had to do it. The truth was, he missed hanging with Veronica. So when Veronica laid out her plan he promised to be there.

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"Sorry I'm late," Logan said walking into Mars Investigations the next day. "I had a run in with my parental units, it wasn't pretty."

"Did Daddy take your car away again?" Veronica asked sarcastically but then feigned dismay when she added, "should I go guard my car from your crow bar?"

"Very funny," Logan said rolling his eyes. He took a seat on the couch and leaned back getting comfortable. It'd had been a long night where he'd gotten very little sleep. He'd been too busy thinking about Lilly's murder and if Veronica was right. He still didn't know all the facts she'd gathered but he'd never seen her so sure of something. She really believed that Koontz was innocent. But if that was true, the real killer was still out there and that didn't sit well with him. "So have you done it yet?"

"Shh here he comes," Veronica said getting ready at her desk.

"Now what?" Keith asked walking out of his office. He looked between Veronica and Logan. He was genuinely surprised to find Logan in their office looking comfortable.

"I'm trying to draw a blood sample. Our health teacher said she'll give extra credit for anyone taking a self-administered HIV test. I ordered this thing online but…I am seriously punking on this finger stick," Veronica said looking nervous.

"This is so endearing. My badass, action figure daughter is afraid to draw," Keith said adopting a Transylvanian accent, "a teensy little drop of blood."

"You know, if you really were a good father, you'd let me draw some of your blood for the test," she said sweetly.

"What?" Keith asked laughing.

"Nobody'll know the difference. Besides, you've been sexually active, I haven't," Veronica lied having to dig deep to keep the memory of Shelley Pomroy's party from flashing through her mind. She held out the finger stick.

"Oh for crying out loud, you're serious about this, aren't you?" Keith said taking the finger stick from her. "Let me have that. You wuss. So those are the parents of Casey Gant. Do you know him?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. He's just another slice off the loaf of shallow, vapid, pain-in-the-ass 09erdom," she said sneaking a look at Logan who just snorted and pretended to be wrapped up in one of their magazines from the coffee table.

"Hmm, well, despite your assessment, his parents are still a little irked about his decision to run off and join a cult," Keith said rolling his eyes.

"He joined a cult? What do they worship? Wedgies? Keggers?" She gasped. "Their parents' platinum cards?" Logan laughed out loud earning a glare from Veronica.

Keith handed the test back to his daughter after having drawn his blood onto the card. He watched as his daughter stared at it for a moment before waving it in the air to dry. "It doesn't matter. He's eighteen so there's little the law can do." He sat down on her desk. "If we get him back, the Gants are offering a five grand bonus so, it's time to focus like the proverbial laser."

"Target acquired and locked on," Veronica said nodding her head.

"What they'd be paying us for is proof of any unlawful activity out there like firearms, drugs, kidnapping, anything'll work. All we need is a sound legal basis for the sheriff's department to shut 'em down," Keith explained.

"I'm still with ya," Veronica said.

"This boy is a classmate of yours. Maybe you can find something that'll shed some light. You know, his parents say he's still showing up at school," Keith said glancing at Logan who was openly looking at them now.

"For a five thousand dollar bonus, I'll get you his genetic code," Veronica joked.

"Veronica? Do not, under pain of slow, agonizing death even think about going to the compound yourself. I'll run the title search, do the background check, take the recon shots, all of that, onus comprenon onus?" Keith said pointing his finger at her.

"Mais oui. Gotcha Frenchie," Veronica said nodding her head.

Keith nodded and looked at Logan one last time before walking back into his office, shutting the door behind him. Veronica opened her desk drawer and pulled out a posting box. She looked at her Dad's door before putting the test in the box.

"So you really are a private dick," Logan said sounding surprised.

"No," Veronica said shaking her head. "I'm a secretary who occasionally does some grunt work for my Dad. Make's it easier on him."

"How bad do you need that five grand?" Logan asked standing up.

"Pretty bad," Veronica admitted. A week ago she wouldn't have admitted that to him without torture but today, she saw something in his eyes. He wasn't going to say something mean or tell anybody how bad the Mar's situation really was. He just wanted to know.

"Then lets go get you that five grand," Logan said raising one eyebrow like he was issuing a challenge. Veronica didn't even think about it. She just stood up and grabbed her bag. It might be nice to have a partner for once.

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Veronica couldn't believe that Casey was going to join the cult. So okay, they weren't all bad. Holly and Rain seemed pretty nice. But the jury was still out on Josh. There was something a little strange about him.

She'd ditched Logan at school so she could go with Holly. The past couple days had been a little strange. They didn't talk openly at school, choosing to meet in the journalism room to talk about what they'd learned. Which was basically nothing. Just that Casey had joined a cult. So Veronica had taken the matter into her own hands and gone out to the compound. She didn't regret that decision but she was sure Logan would have something to say about it.

Veronica walked into her apartment surprised to find Logan sitting on the couch while her Dad sat in his favorite chair. The TV was on some sports channel but Veronica was positive she'd interrupted something.

"You're covered in mud," Keith said stating the obvious.

"See? That's why you make the big bucks," Veronica said sarcastically.

"Where you been?" Logan asked knowing the answer to that question. He was still pissed that she'd disobeyed her father and gone out to meet the crazy's .

"I uh…was with Wallace," Veronica said nodding her head.

"Doing what? Mud wrestling?" Logan asked smirking when Veronica glared at him. "I need to talk to you." He stood up and followed Veronica outside and down the steps towards the pool. They both stood by the pool looking at each other. "I should tell your Dad."

"But you won't," Veronica said quickly.

"I won't," Logan admitted. "But only because I'm sure you have a plan in that mind of yours. Can I be in on it or should I just go home." Veronica looked behind Logan and saw her Dad peeking out of their window. She smiled and waved which caused Logan to look over his shoulder and smile. "Some things never change," Logan said referring to how her Dad use to always check up on all of them when they use to hang out at her house.

"No some things don't," Veronica said softly as she stared at Logan. The past couple of days he'd been great. He'd been the Logan she remembered. The Logan that use to stick up for her when Lilly would put her down for always being the vapid one of the group. So what if she use to be the quiet, boring addition to the fab four. She'd had a Sheriff for a father. She liked to stay below the radar. Or at least she used to.

"Veronica you in there?" Logan asked waving a hand in front of her face. She'd been staring at him for over a minute without saying anything. She was beginning to make him nervous.

"Yeah," Veronica said nodding her head. "I'm here but you need to not be here before my Dad comes out here and joins us."

"So that's a no on the being in on the plan then," Logan said before walking towards his Xterra which was parked in the parking lot.

"No," Veronica said smiling when he turned to look at her. "It's an I'll tell you in the morning. If you still want to know." She watched him smile before he climbed into his car. She was really starting to get use to him being around again. She just hoped he was here to stay this time.

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The next day Veronica paced outside Mars Investigations waiting impatiently for Logan to arrive. She should have known her Dad would be making a visit to the compound today. She was such an idiot for not thinking it through.

"Hey," Logan said walking up to join her. "I got your call. What's happened?"

"I've been busted," Veronica said unhappily. "But if you're here, he might go easier on me." She took a deep breath before leading the way into the lion's den. When she saw her father's face she knew it wouldn't have made a difference if she'd brought her entire school by for a visit. He was going to yell and he was going to yell loud.

"There ya' are. What the hell were you thinking Veronica? That's got to be the worst decision I've ever seen by someone who wasn't literally brain damaged. Since when do you reserve the right to totally blow of my instructions? Does my judgment, my concern for your safety carry that little weight with you?" Keith asked forgoing pleasantries.

"I'm sorry. Dad, I screwed up, big time, I know. Trust me. I'll be following your game plan the rest of the way. They just seem so harmless," Veronica said setting her bag down on the couch. Logan inched his way over to take a seat while he watched the byplay from the sidelines. If he didn't know Keith Mars better he would have been worried for Veronica's safety but Keith would never raise a hand to his daughter.

"What is your basis for that call? The absence of swastikas engraved on their foreheads? Please, reassure me that you aren't that dense," Keith said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry. Really. So did you plant any bugs when you were out there?" Veronica asked trying to get the subject off of her being there.

"Yes," Keith said crossing his arms over his chest.

"You've been listening in?:" Veronica asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Uh-huh," Keith said not giving his daughter an inch.

"Heard anything incriminating yet?" Veronica asked also knowing that he couldn't have. Because nothing was going on out there.

"Nope. It's like listening to "The Brady Bunch" with a reggae soundtrack," Keith said sounding slightly disappointed.

"What about your background check on Josh? Anything shady, out of line?" Veronica asked. Logan waited to see if Keith let her off the hook. He didn't think it looked good for Veronica but if she did that head tilt thing, it might work.

"Up until four years ago, he was a manager of a downloadable ring development team at E-Tones. One day, without warning, he quit his job, cashed out his stock and used it to buy the land for the collective. Holly's totally clean as well," Keith explained.

"So what's our next step?" Veronica asked curiously.

"There's no "our" about it. You are officially off this case. I'll take it home from here," Keith ordered.

"What? That makes…no sense whatsoever! Aren't you even interested in what I've learned?" Veronica yelled beyond angry now. If there was one thing she hated it was being taken off a case that wasn't finished yet.

"What's the point, Veronica? I'm prepared to admit that these Moon Calves probably don't merit the full ATF fire-bombing treatment. I mean, my guess is they're just a bunch of tie-dyed Oliver Twists who scam naïve kids to pay the bills," Keith said as the door to the office opened. "Mr. Gant." He holds out his hand but Mr. Gant ignored it. He gave Veronica a look as he lead the way into his office and shut the door behind them.

Veronica glared at the door before picking up a pillow from the couch and throwing it at the wall. She hated when her Dad got up on his high horse and decided to be concerned about her welfare. She was most likely in danger more parked outside the Camelot Motel than with the Moon Calves. Why couldn't he see that?

"That went well," Logan commented.

"Dammit," Veronica said plopping down beside him. "I hate this."

"Hate what," Logan said smirking when she turned to glare at him. "You had to know he'd find out eventually."

"Yeah but after we solved the case and had cashed the check," Veronica said sticking her lower lip out in a perfect pout.

"A little optimistic of you but," Logan joked. "So is my job over here. Can I go now?"

"Yeah," Veronica said softly. She watched as he got up and headed out the door. She stood up and grabbed her bag. She couldn't quit just because her Dad asked her to. Casey had turned into a good guy. Plus, if she didn't have something to do, she'd just sit and wonder about the blood test.

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Veronica opened the fridge deciding the only thing that was going to help her sleep was a glass of warm milk. It tasted like crap but was effective. She glanced down at the carton but froze when she saw the face staring back at her.

She hadn't stopped working on the case but she also hadn't found anything bad about it either. The Moon Calves were probably better for Casey than his own parent's. They just want his money, not him. But looking at the milk carton, she'd finally found the piece of evidence that would give the Grants exactly what they want.

Keith walked into the apartment to find his daughter staring intently at a milk carton. "That must be good milk."

"Recognize her? That's Rain. One of the girls from the collective. Real name, Debbie Meyer. She's a runaway, a minor," Veronica said knowing that if she kept it from him he'd give her that disappointed look she hated.

"So we gotta call the Gant family right away," Keith said nodding his head.

"Hold it, hold it. Please, Dad. Let's think about this for a minute," Veronica pleaded.

"This is what we're working for. We were praying for a break and now you gave it to us," Keith said watching as his daughter rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me the prospect of having new digs and steady hot water doesn't sound good to you. And we can't just blow this off, Veronica. They're contributing to the delinquency of a minor. It's a serious crime."

"Oh, please, Dad, you've been around these people. Do you honestly think they're corrupting anyone? I think they're exactly what they seem to be; a bunch of sweet, naïve, sixties throwbacks," Veronica said trying to change his mind.

"That's possibly true but definitely beside the point. Even if they are the Utopian sweethearts you think they are, we don't answer morally or otherwise to the Moon Calf Collective. We answer to our clients who pay us to do a job and that job is to find the information they want," Keith explained hating that he was disappointing his daughter.

Veronica watched as he turned around and walked out of the apartment. She hated that he wasn't listening to her. He always thought he knew what was right and usually he was right. But he was wrong this time. Really wrong.

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Veronica ran into the office swearing when she didn't see her father right away. She'd just been talking to Casey and then watched him get shoved into a limo. Her Dad would know what to do. She sighed in relief when she saw him sitting behind his desk. "Dad! We have to call the police, Casey's just been kidnapped."

"What? What are you talking about? Kidnapped by who?" Keith asked confused. \

"By his parents and that creepy guy that was with them at the last meeting. They grabbed him in the parking lot at the funeral and shoved him in the limo and drove away," Veronica said quickly.

"They grabbed him? So it was against his will, then? He tried to get away?" Keith asked carefully and slowly treating her like a witness to a crime.

"No, it's not like he was running from them. I was kind of far away but I could tell he was surprised by what was happening," Veronica said calming down realizing that there wasn't anything that could be done.

"Okay. Okay," Keith said getting up from his chair to walk around and sit on his desk facing Veronica. "I wasn't there. You saw what you saw, I'm not doubting your interpretation but…if I was still sheriff and somebody told me an eighteen year old kid got into a car with his parents after his grandmother's funeral, well there's nothing I could do about it. Not for a couple of days anyway so let's just hold off. See what happens, okay?"

"I wish we hadn't turned over that information about the collective," Veronica said unhappily.

"We didn't," Keith said softly.

"What? You didn't…" Veronica said shocked.

"Um-um. I thought about what you said, what I heard on the wire tap and, uh, you were right. Once you get past all the sixties theme park trappings, that community's a lot more wholesome and functional than, just for example, Neptune is," Keith said picking up a file from his desk. "I also did a little checking on Debbie Meyer. What a life. Poor kid's been in four foster homes since she was eight years old. Reports of serious abuse in at least two and I had to admit it, she's a lot better off where she is."

Veronica smiled at him slowly. Sometimes her Dad could really surprise her and be the good guy instead of the right guy. Sometimes being the good guy was better than being the right guy.

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Veronica got out of her car the next day outside of the school to see a flyer on her windshield. She grabbed it and smirked as she read it. She sees Duncan's car next to hers and sticks in his windshield instead.

"What's this?" Duncan asked climbing out of his car. He grabbed the flyer and read it out loud. "Free Crab Rangoon with purchase of Happy Family Dinner at Wok'n'Roll. Phat. Don't think I didn't notice the sacrifice."

"My pleasure," Veronica said but stared at him as he walked away. She felt somebody walk up behind her and knew it was Logan without even looking. "Everyday that goes by Logan, I wonder if sending in that test was the right thing."

"What do you mean?" Logan asked confused. She'd been all gung ho about it for the entire week, what had changed?

"I I sent off for those test results because I wanted the truth. But can a lab tech really see the shape of my soul in a drunken conga line of genes?" Veronica asked rhetorically. "Jake Kane could be my father. But whether he is or isn't, would I really claim him as such and deny the man who's raised me?"

Wallace ran up to join the two of them. He looked at Logan curiously remembering him as the guy who'd put a couple dents into Veronica's car a couple months earlier. He finally shrugged his shoulders and turned to Veronica. She was always talking to at least one 09er at some time during the day. He just figured it had to do with a case or something.

"Veronica, where ya been?" he asked having seen barely any of her for days. Everybody paused as a Porsche Carrera cuts across their path and into a parking space. "Oh. Now that's a sweet ride."

Casey Grant climbed out giving Veronica a disinterested look. "What's up, Veronica?" Veronica watched him walk into the school feeling sad that his parent's had managed to get what they wanted all along. Casey back under their control.

Later that day Veronica walked into her apartment flipping through the mail. She froze when she saw the envelope concealing the DNA test results and another envelope with just her name written on it. She dropped the rest of the mail on the counter and headed towards her room. She closed her door and sat down on her new water bed. She set the envelope with her name on it aside as she stared at the envelope with the test results and for once didn't know what to do. There was a right and wrong here.

There was a good thing to do, just toss the results in the garbage without looking or the right thing, to open the envelope and know without a doubt if her Dad was her Dad. She just wished she knew which one to choose.

**Please review and tell me what you think!!!!!!!!!! Hmmm I wonder what's in the other envelope...**


	6. Chapter 6

**I am so sorry it's taken me so long to update but these chapters take awhile to write and I haven't been on my computer as much as I'm used to. I'm behind on all my stories and on the one's I read and review on so I'm hoping to catch up this weekend. I started writing this last night but I couldn't get it right until tonight. I am proud of this chapter. I kept a lot of the poker game because I love the poker game. This was one of my favorite episodes. So Enjoy!**

**Dialogue borrowed from An Echolls Family Christmas**

**I do not own Veronica Mars because if I did, it would still be on. And there would never be Pizonica. **

"So you've been sitting here staring at the envelopes for over an hour?" Logan asked pacing inside Veronica's apartment. When she nodded he sighed and sat down beside her on the couch. "Why don't you just open the DNA results and know for sure if you're a Mars?"

"Because there's a chance that I'm not a Mars," Veronica said softly. She had called Logan as soon as she'd realized she couldn't open it on her own. She was having crazy idea's like shredding it or burning it. She needed to talk it through with somebody and Logan was the only one who knew what was going on.

"True," Logan said nodding his head. He didn't understand why she'd called him and told him to get over hear. She'd been impatiently waiting for the envelope for a week and now she didn't know if she wanted to know anymore. He didn't understand girls. "But a week ago that was the reason you did the whole test thingy."

"Logan, Keith Mars has been my Dad for my entire life. He raised me," Veronica said setting the envelope down on the table in front of her. She stood up so she could start pacing back and forth. "I don't want to sound like a Lifetime Movie but he fixed my scraped knees, he bought me my first car and he stayed when my left. He's been everything to me. Opening this envelope is like a slap in his face saying that the only thing that matters is the blood running through me, not his actions for the last 16 years."

"Will whatever this envelope says change how you look at Keith Mars?" Logan asked after a moment of silence passed. He watched as Veronica turned to look at him.

"No," Veronica said honestly. "He's my Dad, no matter what that envelope says."

"Then I think you should open it," Logan said picking it up to hand to her.

Veronica nodded and took the envelope from him. She stuck her finger on the flap and ripped it open easily. She took one last deep breath before pulling the paper free. She was looking into Logan's eyes as she opened the page. She watched as Logan nodded his head as if telling her it was going to be okay no matter what the paper said. She closed her eyes and then opened them reading through the paper quickly.

"Veronica!" Logan called as he watched Veronica's face turn pale and she dropped the paper as she ran from the room. He stood up quickly and leaned down to grab the paper to read it himself. He too dropped the paper as his face lost all color.

"I'm a Kane," Veronica said staring at her reflection into the bathroom mirror when Logan reached the bathroom door. "I knew deep down when Koontz told me…that he was right but I still had hope that…I don't know…maybe he was wrong."

"You're not a Kane Veronica," Logan said shaking his head. "Jake Kane may have provided some sperm years ago but that doesn't make you a Kane. You were raised a Mars and I don't think Keith Mars is going to let a little blood stop that."

"I know that," Veronica said turning the faucet on so she could rinse her face. She felt like throwing up but she didn't want to do that in front of Logan. She was suppose to be strong and capable of handling everything.

Veronica followed Logan back to the living room but let him pick the paper back up and put it in the envelope. She sat back down on the couch completely thrown from the newest turn of events. Who knew that when she woke up this morning she would find out that she was a heir to millions of the Kane riches? Not that she wanted any of their money, as far as she was concerned they could keep it and shove it down their throats. She wanted nothing from the Kanes. Except the truth about what happened to Lilly.

"You still have another envelope to open," Logan said picking up the other one.

"Why don't you open it," Veronica said putting her head in her hands. "This day can't get any worse."

Logan nodded his agreement and opened the other envelope. He was confused when he saw photos of Veronica's mom but shrugged his shoulders as he held them out towards Veronica. "You got some pictures of your Mom." When Veronica looked up quickly he waved the photographs in her face. "I didn't know your Dad was trying to find your Mom."

"He isn't," Veronica said reaching out to grab it but Logan pulled it away to look at it again.

"This is your Mom," he said looking at the picture more intently. He flipped it over and he looked even more confused as he read aloud, "**Leave it alone**." He looked up at Veronica. "Leave what alone? What aren't you leaving alone?"

"None of your business," Veronica said ripping the picture out of his grasp. She grabbed the other envelope and headed towards her room but she groaned when she heard Logan following her.

"None of my business," Logan said sounding pissed off. "I've just spent the past week being your PI bitch and now I find out it's none of my business."

"This has nothing to do with-" Veronica started to say but Logan interrupted her.

"Finding out who killed Lilly," Logan said glaring at her. "I'm not an idiot Veronica. I know something's going on and now I know where I stand in your life. I guess I was the only one willing to take steps towards being friends again."

Veronica watched as Logan stormed out of the apartment and she threw the envelopes in her hands against the wall of her bedroom. Who in the hell did he think he was? Just because he'd spent a week helping her out with a case didn't mean she was going to confide in him. Just because he'd been the nicest he's been since Lilly's funeral doesn't mean she has to be nice back.

Veronica through herself down on her bed and sighed. "Yeah it does," Veronica admitted quietly. He'd been nice and polite and she'd done nothing except ask for favors from him. She owed him something, she just didn't know if she wanted to tell him about the threats. Who knew how'd he react?

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"…I'm Mr. Heat Blister, I'm Mr. 101...They call me Heat Miser…Whatever I touch starts to melt in-" Duncan sang taking another slug from the bottle of alcohol in his hand. Logan grabbed it away from and banged the bottle down on the table.

He picked up a large unlit cigar and stuck it in his mouth. "You start singing, you stop drinking."

"Aww," Duncan said slumping down into his chair feeling sorry for himself.

"You know, you look pretty comfortable with that thing in your mouth," Weevil said motioning towards the cigar in Logan's mouth.

"Sabor Cubano. You people can hand roll like nobody's business," Logan said caressing the cigar. Everybody laughed as Logan placed his bet. "Five hundred."

"Call," Weevil said right away.

"Sean, isn't that ghetto brew beneath you?" Duncan asked motioning towards the beer in Sean's hand with a wide-mouthed bottle.

"It's the new me. I am projecting a ghetto aesthetic," Sean said before leaning towards Weevil, "Word."

"Man, where were you when I was playing the metro sexual in "Lonely Season"?" Connor asked shaking his head.

"I was in high school, not getting paid a quarter of a million dollars to make out with Selma Blair, Connor," Sean said rolling his eyes.

"Don't cry now," Logan warned pushing all his chips into the pot.

"Ooo-hoo," Duncan sang.

"All in," Logan said looking at Weevil expectantly.

"Boo hoo," Weevil said calling Logan's bet.

"Woo!" Logan said as he threw down his cards. Weevil smirked as he laid down his cards. "Oh damn." Logan looks smug as he realizes Weevil's hand isn't as good as his. "So let's see here. There are 42 cards remaining and I can win with 40 of them. I can win with an ace. I can win with a Jack. Will she be the ten and give me the straight? Or will I get the high kicker out of my Jack. Pins and needles."

"Just flip the card," Weevil said annoyed.

"Okay," Logan sang. "But the river's gonna get ya."

"Boom," Logan said slapping the card down on the table. Everybody starts laughing when they see the two of hearts, one of the two cards with which Logan couldn't win. Weevil smirks and the cigar in Logan's mouth droops.

"I can't believe he beat you with a pair of twos," Duncan said shaking his head.

"I'd like my five grand now," Weevil said smiling.

"Sean, the money box so I can pay the pool boy," Logan said sounding as if he didn't care that he just lost a ton of money.

"No. No, no, no, no. You guys aren't pulling any of that with me," Weevil said standing up when the money box is empty.

"Weevil, I'm not pulling anything. Where's the money? Guys, where's the money?" Logan asked also ticked off. He'd put the money in there personally, there was no way the money could be gone.

"Where is it?" Weevil shouts.

"Guys, where's the money?" Logan asked again knowing one of the three remaining guys in the room had to have taken the money.

"Did it fall out?" Sean asked innocently.

"How could it fall out?" Connor asked him sarcastically.

"Maybe it was never in, huh?" Weevil said glaring at Logan.

"You know, I rolled the money up and put it in the box. You all saw me," Logan said rolling his eyes. This was not the night for one of his friends to start pulling some crap with him. He'd already had a crappy day starting with the whole Veronica thing, the fight with his Dad over the poker game and Weevil actually showing up.

"Well, I'm not leavin' here without my money. Now...do I have to turn each of you upside-down and shake you?" Weevil asked arching one eyebrow. When nobody said anything he made them all stand up and start stripping.

"Did you guys call each other?" Sean asked Logan and Duncan who had matching reindeer boxer shorts on.

Weevil looking around spots a Faberge Egg on a bookcase and pockets it. He turns around to face the other guys now lined up in their underwear. "This isn't over. I'll be collecting a grand from each of you, one way or another." He heads towards the sliding glass doors of the pool house but looks back at them one last time. "You picked the wrong guy to rip off."

"This is the worst game of strip poker ever," Sean said sitting down in one of the chairs.

Logan nodded his agreement and within ten minutes he kicked everybody out. He looked around the spotless room one last time before beginning to tear into the room. He hated having to mess everything up. He'd have to clean it up again or risk another beating from his father.

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Veronica stood in the hallway the next day at school talking to Wallace when Duncan pushed through them. She'd yet to talk to him since finding out they were related. Every time she thought of telling him they were sister and brother she threw up in her mouth a little.

"I want my laptop, now," Duncan asked Weevil angrily.

**"**How does it feel to want?" Weevil asked simply.

"I am not screwing around," Duncan asked grabbing the front of Weevil's shirt. Soon Weevil's biker friends surround him and shove him up against the lockers. "I didn't take your money."

"Someone did," Weevil said shrugging one of his shoulders. He doesn't see Veronica creeping closer to see what's going on.

"Well, it wasn't me," Duncan insisted.

"Let him go," Weevil said before he and his boys wander off down the hall leaving Duncan fuming.

"Someone stole your laptop?" Veronica asked approaching Duncan slowly.

"There was this poker game at Logan's last night. Weevil won five grand and someone stole the money. This is his way of collecting," Duncan explained.

"You lie down with dogs, you're gonna get fleas," Veronica joked but all she wanted to do was get away from him. Everything had changed with that blood test and she couldn't stand here talking to him like it hadn't.

"I didn't invite him," Duncan said.

"I wasn't talking about Weevil," Veronica said even though she wasn't talking about Logan either. She really needed to talk to Logan but she'd been avoiding him all day. She still didn't know what to tell him. She started walking away but Duncan followed her.

"Hey, this kinda concerns you," Duncan said.

"I don't see how," Veronica said confused.

"I keep a journal on my laptop for the past, I dunno, three years. There was a time when you were kind of a feature," Duncan said watching as Veronica's face turned pale.

"A feature with a cleverly disguised pseudonym?" Veronica asked hopefully as she suddenly felt like throwing up.

"Let's just say...I was prolific," Duncan said before walking off leaving Veronica staring after him.

Veronica swallowed the bile that rose in the back of her throat. She'd been doing an excellent job of keeping all the memories of their relationship from replaying in her brain but knowing that he'd wrote about it and kept it for three years made her nauseous. She needed to talk to Weevil.

Veronica hurried to the biker's favorite classroom hangout and sighed when she saw Weevil sitting down. She walked into the classroom tilting her head as she said, "Hey."

"See, there you go with that head-tilt thing. You know, you think you're all badass but whenever you need something it's all, hey," Weevil said laughing as he tilted his head.

"Just be glad I don't flip my hair. I'd own you," Veronica joked but she could feel her body trembling. She needed the laptop back.

"So what can I do for you?" Weevil asked knowing this was a business call.

"You can not get busted stealing 09er stuff and let me handle this poker thing," Veronica said hopefully but she sighed when Weevil just chuckled. "Seriously. Why risk it? Give Duncan back his computer. Let me handle this."

"Could you, please, Veronica? Protect me from the big, bad, sweater vest-wearing rich boys?" Weevil said sarcastically.

"I'm just trying to help," Veronica said realizing that he wasn't going to give her the laptop.

"In what alternate universe does it look like I need your help, huh?" Weevil asked but he sat up when she closed her eyes and lowered her head so he couldn't see her face anymore. She turned quietly and headed towards the door. "Of course, if I get my five grand, some of those guys will stop losing their stuff." He stood up when Veronica didn't even stop and followed her all the way to "her" bathroom. The place where she discussed all her business.

Weevil walked inside placing the ever present sign on the door so they wouldn't be disturbed. He looked around but didn't see Veronica but then heard her in one of the stalls. She was puking. Weevil made a face but didn't leave. It wasn't like Veronica to be sick. He didn't think she'd been sick all year. "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine," Veronica said walking out of the stall heading towards the sink.

"Yeah that's why you're face matches the color of a marshmallow," Weevil said shaking his head. He watched as she rinsed her mouth out as good as she could without a toothbrush or mouthwash. "If you're sick why'd you come to school?"

"I'm not sick," Veronica said and saw him roll his eyes. "Really, I'm not. I'm just…disgusted and horrified." She lowered her head to the sink as another memory flashed through her head. "Weevil, I need that laptop back."

"Why is it so damn important to you?" Weevil asked pissed off that they were back to the laptop. "I thought you were through with 09er idiots."

"I am…I was…dammit," Veronica said shaking her head. She whipped around so she was facing him. "Please Weevil, just give me the laptop. I won't give it to him until I have your money but please give me the laptop."

Weevil stared at her. She looked sick even though she claimed she wasn't. She stood there, looking proud even though she was basically pleading with him for a laptop that wasn't even hers. There must be something pretty important on that laptop for her to be begging for it. "Why do you need his laptop?"

"Duncan keeps a journal Weevil," Veronica said softly he had to strain to hear her. "A journal that I play a starring role in and nobody can read it."

"I'm not reading his journal," Weevil said rolling his eyes.

"Nobody can read his journal," Veronica stated staring at him. "Ever."

"What aren't you saying?" Weevil said slowly.

"I can't tell you," Veronica said surprised to find that she wanted to tell him. "I wish I could but until I come to terms with it myself and tell the people involved, I can't tell you."

"You won't give it to him," Weevil said knowing that if she promised she wouldn't.

"I promise," Veronica said quietly.

"Okay then," Weevil said nodding his head once before he walked out of the bathroom. Veronica barely caught herself as her legs buckled and she lowered herself to the floor. Her stomach was still rolling and she had the worst after taste in her mouth.

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Veronica walked into the office later that day and froze when she heard her father's voice coming from his office. She closed her eyes and counted to ten. She had yet to talk to him since she'd found out the test results. She knew she had to act normal or he'd know something had happened.

"Oh, I was wondering if you did pumpkin carving," Keith asked. "Yes, I'm aware that it's Christmas…You know, I already have a gingerbread house, but thank you." He hung up the phone and was crossing off one of the names on his list when Veronica entered.

"Making a list and checking it twice. Is there a side job I should know about?" Veronica asked relieved that she actually sounded normal.

"Do we not live in California? Isn't there produce available 365 days a year?" Keith asked annoyed.

"Well, at least now I know what I'm getting you," Veronica said attempting a smile.

"Hey, do you have a minute to run by the Echolls' house for me? I need Lynn to sign a few papers," Keith said holding out an envelope.

Veronica stared at the envelope for a moment before she finally nodded her head. "Sure." She headed out of the office, the envelope firmly in her grasp. It barely took her ten minutes to reach Logan's house and soon she was parked and she headed towards the pool house.

Veronica winces when she sees how messy the pool house is. She takes a second to stare at Logan privately smiling as he yells at the TV.

"Come on," Logan said glaring at the TV.

"I love the smell of testosterone in the morning," Veronica quipped.

"This is why I suggested attack dogs. But no, my mother wanted an alpaca," Logan said looking over at her.

Veronica sighed, he was still mad. "My father sent me with paperwork for your mom," she said deciding to forgo asking him about the game right now.

"And you just wanted to say hi? It's a good thing I didn't have my slam book out," Logan said sarcastically.

"I wanted to ask you about the game," Veronica said.

"I've been meaning to ask you something," Logan said giving up on the video game. He stood up and headed towards the bar to the coffee maker. "Did your super-sleuth kit come with a decoder ring? Do you have a pen that writes with invisible ink? Never mind, don't care. Mush! Mush!" He gestures for her to leave and watches as Veronica walks away with a hurt look on her face. "Hey, uh, wait. Hey!" Veronica pauses by the door. "Maybe you should talk to Connor."

"Larkin? Like, Connor Larkin?" Veronica said shocked.

"He's a mortal, believe me. They just draw his abs on," Logan said rolling his eyes.

"Is he doing another movie with your father?" Veronica asked.

"You know, I don't know if it's so much a movie as a fifty million dollar crap pile," Logan said smiling when Veronica chuckled.

"Why would Connor steal the money? He's a zillionaire," Veronica said confused.

"Why would anyone steal the money?" Logan asked confused. "It's not like any of us are hurting for money…oh wait…except Weevil."

"Weevil didn't steal the money Logan," Veronica said shaking her head at him.

"Oh I forgot," Logan said making a face. "You and him are best buddies now"

"We're not best buddies," Veronica said softly. "But we are friends…just like we're friends."

"Really," Logan said in disbelief. "So he's okay not knowing what's really going on in your life. Because I'm not. I already lost one 'friend' who kept secrets and lied all the time. I don't need another one."

"I'm not Lilly," Veronica stated in a cold voice. That was one of her biggest fears. She loved Lilly but she wasn't going to be her. Especially now that she was Jake Kane's daughter. She was Veronica and would always be Veronica.

"We'll see," Logan said turning away from her.

Veronica shook her head and headed out of the pool house. She didn't need this. She didn't need him making her feel bad when she already felt bad enough. She wanted to tell him but she didn't want him to tell the whole school a week from now.

"I'll call Connor and give you a walk on," Logan called after her before slamming the pool house door.

Veronica paused beside the pool and clenched and unclenched her free hand before heading towards the main house. She wished that she knew what to say to calm Logan down. There once was a time she would have known the perfect thing to make him smile, now she knew the perfect thing to make him yell. Times had a changed.

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Veronica sat down on a low wall staring at the 09er table where Duncan and Sean are sitting. She'd talked to everybody involved and knew who had stolen the money but she didn't want to just tell them. She'd rather tell them. Plus, she wanted a chance to win that money.

She barely noticed as Wallace sat down beside her. "You're gonna hurt yourself, thinking that hard."

"They say if you're caught in a stare it means your mind needs a break," Veronica said smiling at her friend.

"Like, that mind ever takes a break. So, how's the poker case coming?" Wallace asked curiously.

"Oh, it's a Christmas miracle. I think I finally found a way to send my dad to camp," Veronica said standing up. She made her way to the 09er table smiling. "So, good news, bad news. The good news is, I know who stole the money. The bad news is, I know who stole the money." Logan grinned at her. "Here's my brilliant idea. Filled with holiday spirit, Logan will host another game."

"Will I?" Logan asked sarcastically.

"I'm thinking tonight," Veronica stated.

"Mm, no, my mother's Christmas party is tonight," Logan said shaking his head.

"Mm, so no BYOB. Here's how it will go down," Veronica said sitting down beside Logan. "I'll tell you who did it and you'll buy me into the game. I'll just take the place of whoever stole the money. Unless you still might think you want him around?"

"You know, even if you keep talking, it's not gonna happen," Logan said although he was intrigued. He wouldn't mind playing a little poker with Miss Mars.

"Oh. I thought you guys might all want your stuff back," Veronica said making a sad face.

"Yeah. If I get my five grand, some items could…" Weevil said helping himself to a piece of their pizza. "…magically reappear."

"And if you think about it, anyone who doesn't see this as a great offer is obviously the thief. Kind of a no-brainer," Veronica pointed out.

"Do you even know how to play poker?" Logan asked as she stood up. Of course he knew she could play poker. He'd taken one long month to teach her when they were fourteen when both Kane's had been gone on a family vacation. She'd been a slow learner.

"No," Veronica said in mock awe. "But it must be really hard if all you guys play." She winked at Logan who she knew was remembering the same month that she was. It was the month that had cemented their friendship back then.

Later that night Veronica walked into the pool house where everyone at the original party is in their seats except Weevil.

Logan looked up from handing out the chips when he heard the door open. "Ho…Ho…Ho," he said smiling so she knew he was joking. It was hard to let go of their snarky banter. It was so much fun.

Veronica laughed in mock appreciation at his wit and dropped her bag to the floor. She looks at Weevil in surprise when he picked it up.

"Allow me. You want a sodey-pop or somethin'?" Weevil asked smirking.

"You know, I think I want something with a little more kick," Veronica said grabbing Duncan's bottle of whisky from the table.

"Hey, no," Duncan said but Veronica lifted the bottle to her lips and poured it down her throat. Duncan looks down at the table but everybody else was impressed.

"Damn, girl!" Weevil said shaking his head.

"Mmm. Iced tea?" Veronica asked already knowing the answer.

"Yeah," Duncan said resigned.

"How very musical theatre of you," she said as Logan stares at Duncan and smiles in wonder. Veronica walked around the table. "Duncan can't remember the alphabet when he drinks let alone figure out 20 of the pizza bill." Logan grabbed the bottle to smell it as Veronica went on to explain. "No, he didn't play drunk to steal your money, he played drunk to win your money. To no avail it seems." She looked at Conner next. "Oh, and Connor isn't a drug addict. I know…the constant bathroom visits. He wasn't going for a fix. He was going because of the Sun Tea."

Connor looked down into his cup as Duncan leaned over to do the same. "It's that diuretic wrestlers down when they need to make weight or that actors use before they're half naked on the cover of "Vanity Fair"." Duncan laughed as Connor shrugged. Veronica turned to Logan. "And then, there's bachelor number three. And he's got it all." Logan grinned. "Motive. Access. Looks like an evildoer, smells like an evildoer…but surprisingly...not so much. Weevil cleared him. He told me he searched the room but didn't go through it as much as he wanted. When I saw it, it looked like it had been raided by the FBI."

"If Logan took the money and hid it, he wouldn't have had to tear the room apart looking for it. So, two left. The boy from the wrong side of the tracks and the boy who lives in the most expensive house in the 09er zip," Veronica said dumping her bag so she could take off her coat. "So, do you want to hear how Sean did it? Ah, he's a crafty little bugger."

"Sean didn't bring the Big Mouth Joes because he's cheap. He knew he couldn't leave with the money, so he didn't. What happens to garbage in the 09er zip? He just waited for the recycling to go out the next day and did a little garbage picking."

"Sean? What? The guy has a chauffeur drive him to school everyday. Why would he need to steal?" Logan asked confused.

"Funny story. When I went to Sean's, I couldn't help but wonder…" Veronica said thoughtfully. "What was his dad doing at home, three in the afternoon, dressed in a suit instead of being at work? Unless he was at work." Veronica looked around at everyone. "I have to say, I was a bit miffed. I was this close to being able to say the butler did it. But no, it was the butler's son."

**"**That doesn't prove anything," Sean said bitterly.

"Well, that proves that you're a liar and the background check I ran on you proves that you've got a bit of a shoplifting problem. You are really bad at it," Veronica said shaking her head at him. She watched as Weevil stood up and took a pleading Sean out of the pool house.

Logan was staring off after them when Veronica took Sean's seat. "Mind if I deal first?" Duncan motioned for her to go ahead and Veronica grabbed the cards and fanned them on the table with one smooth move. Duncan stares at her as she shuffles the deck professionally. Logan grinned at her recognizing one of the moves he'd taught her years ago.

"A little impressed, aren't you?" Veronica asked later.

"You must be really unlucky in love," Connor said shaking his head.

"Okay. I say we take a little break. Let the cosmos realign because obviously something's up," Logan said standing up. He was sick of losing his money to the one person he'd taught the game too.

"I can use something to eat," Weevil admitted rubbing his stomach.

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Veronica stood at the buffet line with Weevil but she was barely listening to him. She couldn't take her eyes off Jake Kane. He was standing ten feet away from her talking with Celeste. She watched him make his excuses and found herself passing her plate to Weevil so she could go talk to him.

Logan was just finishing making up with Duncan when he spotted Veronica across the room. She was in a hurry and Logan looked ahead to find Jake Kane walking into the study. He started following her. She couldn't confront him at a party. She'd regret it tomorrow.

Veronica followed Jake into one of the Echoll's rooms and shut the door. "I've got a question for you."

"Hello, Veronica," Jake said surprised. He hadn't seen much of her since Duncan had quit seeing her and then the whole fiasco with her father.

"Does your head of security make it a habit of taking photographs of high school students and drawing bull's eyes over their faces or am I special?" Veronica asked her voice trembling. She'd chickened out form asking him about the affair. She wasn't ready to have her fears confirmed. "Clarence Wiedman took pictures of me. Surveillance pictures. He drew a target over my face and sent them to my mother. Why?"

"You're not making any sense," Jake said confused.

"Why?" Veronica asked again.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jake said honestly.

"Why would you want my mother out of town?" Veronica asked afraid to hear the answer.

"I didn't," Jake said shaking his head.

"Why didn't she tell me or my father about the pictures instead of hiding them in a safe deposit box?" Veronica asked glaring at the man who was most likely her father.

"I don't know!" Jake shouted. He headed towards the door but Veronica blocked the way and glared at him even more if it was possible.

"I don't believe you," Veronica said her voice shaking from anger. She couldn't believe that he would stand there and deny everything. She had the damn pictures and she'd traced them back to Clarence Wiedman herself. She wasn't wrong.

Logan backed away from the door still processing what he'd over heard. They always said you never heard anything good if you were eavesdropping but he sure as hell knew more now than he had a day ago. Somebody had threatened Veronica. He didn't care who it was but he was damn well going to find out.

He watched as Jake stormed past him and Veronica froze in the door way when she saw Logan standing there. She opened her mouth to say something but shook her head. She moved to walk by him but Logan grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. He pulled her into a hug that he'd been wanting to give her for awhile now but never felt like there was a right time for one.

"I'm sorry," Veronica said softly. She wanted to say more but she heard screaming coming from the main room.

They both ran into the room to find Aaron bleeding on the floor with Lynn screaming for help above him. Veronica moved to help her father who she'd spotted holding a young woman on the floor but Logan still had a hold of her hand and his grip tightened. Veronica turned to tell him to let go but froze when she saw his face. He looked distraught as he stared at the scene in front of him.

Veronica looked at her father but saw him getting the woman under his control and she took a step back so she was aligned with Logan. He'd been there all week for her when she'd needed his friend. Now it was his turn, he needed somebody to hold his hand and be there for him. Since the room was clearing out fast it looked like it was going to be her. Veronica squeezed his hand letting him know without words that he wasn't alone. She wasn't going anywhere.

**Please review. I love reading them and it truly makes my day to hear what you think. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everybody so no I didn't fall off the face of the Earth or get bored with the story. The truth is that I have another story going right now and it's been flowing really well and I've just been feeling that story more than this one. Plus that show didn't get cancelled so I have inspiration for that story still. But this story is still going...I have a plan. It's not ending, I swear. Pinky promise!!!! **

**So I hope you like this update. It's been hard to force myself to sit down and write it but I did it! Thanks goes to my sister Jess because she wouldn't let me quit. :P **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Veronica Mars...wish I did...but I don't.**

Veronica sat in Logan's bedroom anxiously waiting for Logan to get back from the hospital. Her Dad had given her specific orders to go home when he'd taken Logan to the hospital earlier following the ambulance that carried both of Logan's parents. Veronica had nodded her head but she'd never left. Logan was going to need somebody tonight and since his friends weren't the best of people to have around during a crisis, Veronica had kicked them out and cleaned up.

It'd been hours since they'd gone so the pool house looked cleaner than it had in months most likely. She'd gotten rid of all evidence of a poker game, making sure to separate everybody's money from the game. There was no winner tonight.

Veronica got up and walked over to the wall that displayed pictures that Logan had hung up. They were mostly of Duncan, Dick and Logan. But there was one of Lilly that Logan hadn't taken down yet. Veronica reached up and pulled it down surprised to find it was a picture of the four of them hanging out by Logan's pool. She hadn't hung out at Logan's house since before Lilly's death.

Veronica had loved being at Logan's. Hanging at Duncan and Lilly's house had been hard mainly because of Celeste. She'd hated Veronica and had never tried to hide it. But Logan's parents had always loved having them over. Especially Lynn, she'd been like a second mother to Veronica. It had been hell losing her Mom but she'd had Lynn there for awhile, until Logan had written her off too. She'd lost every important person in her life because of Lilly's murder; which was fitting considering Lilly had introduced her to every single one of them when she'd become her friend.

Veronica took the picture and walked back over to Logan's bed where she sat down staring at the photo. It hadn't been taken too long before Lilly's murder. Probably one of the last photo's of them all together. In fact, she could remember the exact moment it had been taken. Lynn had surprised them with the camera and Veronica was sitting in front of Duncan with Logan's head in her lap while Lilly posed behind them all.

"You're still here," Logan said surprised standing in the doorway. Mr. Mars had just dropped him off at his front door and they'd both noticed Veronica's car still parked out front. Keith had just told him to tell Veronica to get home soon.

"Yeah," Veronica said standing up quickly. She forgot about the picture in her hand as she stared at a somber looking Logan. "Is that a problem?"

"No," Logan said quickly. Truth was he didn't know if it was a problem or not. The whole night had been one giant ball of confusion as far as he was concerned. Starting with Sean stealing the money, he'd never seen that coming. Then ending with his father being stabbed by a scorned mistress. With a bunch of other confusions thrown in the middle. Like Jake Kane sending Veronica and her Mom threatening photo's. Nothing was making sense.

"Is your Dad okay?" Veronica asked after an uncomfortable moment of silence had passed.

"The doctor said so," Logan said feeling guilty that he'd wished otherwise. His Dad wasn't the nicest guy in the world but what son wished their Dad pain?

"That's good then," Veronica said smiling hopefully but when Logan just nodded his head she sighed. "I'm making you uncomfortable. I should go."

"No," Logan said shaking his head. "It's not you…it's everything. My life lately has become a soap opera and not even a good one."

"Isn't that the life of the rich and famous?" Veronica asked feigning confusion. She smiled when she made Logan laugh. She didn't like seeing him sad. Logan wasn't suppose to be the brooding one, he was the life of the party. He was the guy making everybody else laugh.

"So…" Logan said sitting down on the other side of the bed. When Veronica just stared at him he patted the spot beside him. "Some party eh?"

"I've been to worse ones," Veronica said thinking of Shelley Pomroy's party.

"Seriously?" Logan asked shocked. "Because this party is going down in the record books as one I hope I never have to think about again."

"Yeah," Veronica said wishing she could put Shelley's party out of her mind but it was on a constant repeat whenever she thought she had a free moment.

Logan looked down at his hands but his eyes were drawn to the photo in Veronica's hands. He'd taken it down many times but for some reason he'd always ended up putting it back up. Something about that day and the four of them in that photo had pulled at him. He'd never been able to throw it away. "Do you remember that day?" he asked Veronica softly knowing she had too.

Veronica looked down at the photo and smiled. "Of course I do," she said shaking her head. "It was a great day."

"Yeah," Logan agreed. He looked into Veronica's eyes and smiled softly. "Definitely a day that went down in my record book as one I'll never forget."

"Same here," Veronica agreed.

They both got quiet for awhile. Logan's mind was consumed with everything that had happened that night. But the one piece of the night's history that was at the forefront was also the same thing running through Veronica's mind. He opened his mouth but she beat him to it.

"So about what you heard tonight…" Veronica said slowly. She had no idea where she was going with it and wasn't sure if she should bring it up at all, considering his father was in the hospital. He probably wasn't thinking about it at all.

"Oh you mean you accusing Jake Kane of being behind the picture you received the other day," Logan said proving her wrong.

"Logan," Veronica said standing up. "I know you love the Kanes-"

"Chill Veronica," Logan said smiling. He sure did love riling her up. "I'm inclined to believe you considering Jake Kanes head of security is the one taking the photographs."

"Oh," Veronica said surprised. He'd been so difficult from the beginning that having him so amenable was a surprise.

"But now that I'm on board," Logan said slowly, knowing he was going to piss her off. "It's time we go to the sheriff."

"Please tell me you're joking," Veronica said glaring at him. A minute ago she'd been surprised, pleasantly surprised but now she was not so pleasantly surprised.

"Veronica," Logan said standing up.

"Because you have to be joking to make such an asinine suggestion," Veronica said backing up. "Lamb would laugh me right out of his office and then call Jake Kane and tell him about the newest way Keith Mars was trying to attack his family."

"Fine then let's go to your father," Logan said his frustration evident in his tone.

"I can't go to my father," Veronica said through clenched teeth. "If I go to my father he's going to want to know everything and I can't tell him everything." She walked away so she was looking out Logan's window that overlooked the back yard. "I don't know how to tell him about the paternity test."

"So don't," Logan said walking up behind her. "But you can't go after Jake Kane alone."

"I won't," Veronica said loudly. "I just have to find my Mom first."

"How do you plan on finding her?" Logan asked knowing he was going to make her even more angry.

"I don't know exactly," Veronica said turning to face him. She knew what he was trying to do but it wasn't going to work. "Logan I have to try and do this my way. I have been in charge of my life for the past year. I make my decisions and this one is final."

"So I don't get a say," Logan said staring at her.

"Not in this case no," Veronica said softly.

Logan stared at her for a moment before nodding. "Then I think it's time you left, don't you?"

Veronica looked down at the floor as she blinked back the tears that flooded her eyes. She hated that the closeness they'd had for the few minutes earlier that night was gone. She took one last look at the photograph of the four of them before bolting from his room. As she walked out his front door she wiped away the stray tear that managed to escape. This night was going down as one of the worst in her record book.

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Veronica walked into the school hallway and saw Wallace standing beside her locker waiting for her by the look on his face. She glanced down at her watch and groaned. She was running behind schedule, her Dad had made her late with all this talk about the E-String Strangler.

"Sorry," Veronica said opening her locker so she could grab her book for her first hour.

"S'okay," Wallace said relaxing now that he'd spotted his friend. All the media hype was getting to him too. "Is your Dad giving you a new curfew and taking away car privileges?"

"Ahh no," Veronica said turning to look at Wallace with a confused look on her face. "Why do you ask?"

"It's all over the school," Wallace said motioning to all the groups of teenage girls talking. "This E-String Strangler has really got parent's scared."

"No," Veronica said closing her locker. She waited while Wallace fell into step beside her before continuing. "I got all the information on how he picks his victims and what bars he frequents."

"Just a regular day in the Mar's household," Wallace said grinning. They turned the corner and spotted Logan leaning against a locker with the rest of his 09er friends. "How's Logan doing?"

"I don't know," Veronica answered honestly. "It's been a week since the Christmas party and I haven't heard from him since my Dad and I dropped him off at the hospital that night."

"Seems okay," Wallace said as they passed the group of guys, both missing the intense look Logan gave Veronica.

"I guess," Veronica replied but she didn't really think so. Logan was really good at acting like he was happy when he wasn't. She would have said that he'd gotten that talent from his father but Aaron Echoll's couldn't act his way out of a paper bag as far as she was concerned.

Veronica stumbled as a student bumped into her making her drop her books. She looked at Wallace who just shrugged his shoulders as he helped her pick up her books. They were interrupted by a student wanting Veronica's help.

Wallace stood back and watched Veronica land another case. He'd thought it was cool when he'd first met Veronica, her being a private detective, but lately it had started to consume her life. She was taking on too many cases at a time and he could tell it was beginning to show.

Veronica watched Jackson Douglas walk away and shook her head. It was like taking candy from a baby solving these petty cases. It would go a long way towards funding the rapidly headed towards a brick wall case that was her Mothers.

"Sure you should be taking on another case?" Wallace asked falling into step beside her. They passed a gloating Madison Sinclair who was handing out birthday invitations.

"It'll take five minutes," Veronica said shrugging her shoulders. She paused at the door of her first hour. "Wanna help with my newest case after school?" She held up Jackson's information. She smiled when Wallace nodded and then watched him walk on. She stood in the doorway for another moment staring at Logan who had just accepted his invitation to Madison's party.

She hated that he would most likely be going. But more importantly, she hated that it was bothering her. Madison was like the queen of the 09er crowd. If you didn't go you'd better have a pretty damn good excuse. She sighed and headed towards her desk in the back of the classroom. She'd once reigned supreme over the 09er crowd. Not because of her parents though, because of the Kane's. Duncan and Lily to be exact. They'd made her into that girl. The girl she wouldn't even recognize if they passed on the street.

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"So I guess we'll be getting our invites another day," Wallace said later from his seat in front of Veronica's desk.

"Invites?" Veronica said distracted from working on Jackson's case. She looked up at her friend her confusion written all over her face.

"To Madison's Sinclair's birthday party," Wallace said smiling. "It's suppose to be the party of the year."

"Until the next party of the year," Veronica said rolling her eyes.

"A part of you must want to check it out," Wallace said picturing the party in his mind. He'd never been to an 09er party but he was sure that it was one damn good time.

"I'm never going to an 09er party again," Veronica said seriously looking back at her laptop.

"Again?" Wallace said picking up on the one word she wished she could take back. It was only going to lead to more questions.

"I use to be one of them," Veronica said staring at the keyboard.

"What was it like?" Wallace asked as the door to the office opened. They both stared with their mouths hanging open as Lamb walked in along with the Mayor of Neptune.

"Is your daddy here, or is he busy peeking in people's windows?" Lamb asked staring down at Veronica.

"You stop dressing up like Little Bo Peep, he'll stop peeking," Veronica said making Wallace chuckle.

"Your father?" The Mayor said not finding her funny.

Veronica stood up and slowly made her way to her Dad's door. "Deputy Lamb is here. He's got the mayor with him." When her Dad told her to show them in she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. I'll just have Rod Serling wait out here on the couch." She threw open the door to Keith's office and ushered them in. "The detective will see you now."

Veronica smiled when the Mayor shot her a disapproving look and shook hands with Keith. She waited until they all sat down before adding, "Can I get anybody anything? Water? Coffee?" She paused and looked directly at Lamb. "A banana?"

"We're good," Lamb said glaring at her.

"Okay. Just leaving," Veronica said shutting the door. She motioned for Wallace to keep quiet when he opened his mouth as she stood outside the door trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. She makes a face when she realizes they are talking to quiet to hear all of it.

"Listening in Veronica Mars," Wallace said shaking his head. "You never hear anything good by eavesdropping."

"You don't hear anything when you don't listen in either," Veronica pointed out. They both kept quiet waiting while Keith finished talking to Lamb and the Mayor. As soon as they were out of the office Veronica pounced. "What was that about? What's tomorrow?"

"The day I go back to work at the sheriff's department," Keith said watching as his daughter's jaw dropped open.

"You're going back to work at the sheriff's department?" Veronica asked shocked. She hadn't seen that one coming, not even in a million years.

"It's temporary. I'm just there to work on the E-String Strangler case," Keith explained.

"And you're teaming up with Lamb?" Veronica asked a smile slowly making it's way to her face.

"It's a bitter pill, I know but they're paying me my normal hourly," Keith said smiling at Veronica's obvious enjoyment.

"And Lamb agreed to this? His head didn't explode," Veronica said making Wallace and Keith chuckle.

"The mayor didn't give him a choice. I'm the closest thing they have to an E-String Strangler authority and it's a big priority for the mayor. A killer preying on partying college girls tends to kill the Spring Break business," Keith pointed out.

"So this is all about tourist revenue. God bless America," Veronica said rolling her eyes.

"Well, whatever their motive, I'm glad to be involved," Keith said heading back towards his office. Veronica stood up quickly and followed him back in making sure to keep her voice down low so Wallace couldn't hear.

"Hey, if you're working at the Sheriff's office, you'll have access to the Lilly Kane files. We can finally get our hands on that Crime Stoppers Hotline recording, find out who the anonymous source was, the one who fingered Abel Koontz," Veronica said getting excited. That tape could be the break she needed.

"That won't be on my agenda," Keith said sitting down behind his desk. "End of discussion."

Veronica stared at him before walking out of his office in obvious disappointment. That could have been her first big break and now she had to find another way to get that tape. Nothing was ever easy for her.

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Veronica sat at her desk at Mars Investigations. Mac had just left and she had to start heading to the library to work on Mac's case. But inside her mind was going at mile a minute.

"_Sam's had a few tickets, tax audit, nothing strange…" she said slowly but then found something a little odd. "…huh, except that."_

_  
"What?" Mac asked leaning forward._

_  
"According to this, they won a million dollar lawsuit against Neptune Memorial Hospital in '92," Veronica read off her laptop screen._

_  
"No way. That's got to be a mistake," Mac said shaking her head._

_  
"Hello? Sleuth prowess," Veronica joked._

_  
"Come on, they hate lawyers and they never even go near the hospital," Mac explained._

_  
"You want me to look into it?" Veronica asked her._

_  
"Yeah, I do," Mac said nodding her head._

What could have happened in '92 that had turned Mac's parents off of going to hospitals and using lawyers? It had to be something big. Veronica headed off towards the library wanting to solve this case for her own curiosity.

Two hours later she was sitting in her car wishing she'd never taken on the case. How could Mac's parent's do that to her? It was beyond wrong. They'd never planned on telling her she was switched at birth and now Veronica had to be the bearer of bad news. Life sure as hell wasn't fair. She just hoped Mac didn't shoot the messenger.

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Veronica walked up to Mac's house her concern for her new friend evident on her face. She didn't want to tell her but she couldn't keep the information from her either. She'd recently found out about her own parentage and she new how being kept in the dark felt. She couldn't do that to Mac.

"Hey," Mac said opening the door.

"Got a minute?" Veronica asked walking into the house when Mac gestured for her to enter. She follows her to her bedroom and sits down across from Mac. She waited while Mac dealt with her younger brother before commenting on Mac's bedroom.

"Whoa. Who's your curator?" Veronica asked only partly joking. There were art posters everywhere making it look like a gallery. Plus there were books on every available service.

"You like it? It's my own little cave. Whenever I run out of space, my dad just builds me more shelves," Mac said turning to deal with her mother who was bringing them a tray of treats. Veronica almost choked on the cookie she had taken when Mac's mom called her Cindy.

"Cindy?" Veronica asked smirking.

"It won out over Barbie," Mac said making a face. "So what did you find out? Has to be pretty big for you to come deliver it in person."

"Um…" Veronica said sighing heavily.

"Suspense effectively built. Hit me," Mac said bracing herself.

Veronica stared at her friend wondering if this was going to be the end before they ever really had a beginning. She hadn't had a friend, a girl friend, since Lilly. It had been nice getting to know Mac a little each case at a time. But like her Dad always said, this is the job. Telling people stuff they might not want to know or might be better off not knowing.

"It is big, like, life-altering big, so you should really think about if you want to hear it or if you'd rather just forget it and go on with your life. And may I suggest option B?" Veronica said hopefully.

"I'm adopted, aren't I? Go ahead and tell me, it would explain a lot," Mac said surprising her.

"Well, yes and no, um, the Mackenzies aren't your biological parents," Veronica said slowly wondering if Mac would actually be okay with the information she had dug up.

"So what does that mean?" Mac asked confused.

"You were sent home from the hospital with the wrong family," Veronica said quickly.

"Oh my god," Mac said obviously not expecting that.

"And there's more," Veronica said softly.

"More than that?" Mac asked wondering what else she could have to say that could be worse than 'baby switched at birth.'

"Another family was awarded a million dollars at the same time," Veronica said wishing she didn't have to do this.

"Okay," Mac said bracing herself once again.

"Um, another baby girl, born the day after you were and your biological parents took her home," Veronica explained watching as she connected the dots.

"Another girl, born a day after me," Mac said it slowly dawning on her. "I was switched at birth with Madison Sinclair."

Veronica stared at her friend and wished that Logan was there. He'd know exactly what to say to break the sudden tension in the room. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I always knew that my parents weren't my parents," Mac said softly. "But knowing that Madison's Sinclair's parents are my real family. I don't know how I fell."

Veronica sat back in her chair and sighed. "I'm sure in this case, that's okay. I can tell you that I recently found out something about one of my parent's and I still don't know how I feel."

"Did you find out your parent's aren't your real parents?" Mac asked sarcastically. She paused when she saw the uncomfortable look on Veronica's face. She stared at the young PI wondering what exactly was going on in her life. "I am so sorry Veronica…"

"It's okay Mac," Veronica said shaking her head. "It's just…it's not going to be something you get over quickly." She stood up and made her way over to her bedroom door. "And you should think about the fact that they may not be your 'real' parents but they kept you over getting back their biological daughter. That has to mean something." Veronica watched as Mac just nodded her head and walked out of the bedroom. She had other things she had to get done. Like get that tape from the Sheriffs office.

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Veronica sat at her lunch table the next day doodling in one of her notebooks as she thought about the new deputy at the Sheriff's office. Leo had been cute and charming. He'd obviously found her attractive because he'd been blatantly obvious with his flirting. But the only thing she could think about was getting that tape. She hated the way her mind was working but using him might be the only way to get it.

Veronica jumped when somebody sat down beside her and was surprised to see Mac looking down at a flyer. "How are you doing?" she asked but then noticed the flyer in her hands. "Mac no…"

"I have to go Veronica," Mac said without looking up. "I have to…just see."

"It's not a good idea," Veronica said taking a deep breath.

"Veronica, you should know how I feel," Mac said finally looking up at her. Veronica hated seeing the pain in her eyes. "I could have had a completely different life. I have to see that life."

"Look at Madison," Veronica said pointing to the bubbly blonde. "You really want to be that."

"Well no," Mac said rolling her eyes. "I have to see…I just have to see."

Veronica nodded her head after a minute. She watched as Wallace made his way over to their table and sat down only momentarily taken aback at seeing somebody else at their table. It was usually just the two of them.

"So what's the two most interesting girls I know doing tonight?" Wallace asked smiling at Veronica.

"Crashing an 09er party," Veronica said smiling, covering the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Wanna join?"

"You know it," Wallace said staring at her curiously. She'd just said a couple days ago that she would never attend another 09er party and here she was smiling at the prospect of going. Something didn't add up. He looked at Mac and saw her staring down at Madison's Sinclair's flyer with a weird look on her face. It didn't take a genius to figure out it had something to do with the computer girl, he just wondered what was up. He hated being out of the loop.

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"So this is where the bourgie folks live?" Wallace asked as they knocked on the front door.

"Upper upper bourgie," Veronica said staring at Mac.

"It'll be fine," Mac stated even though Veronica didn't think so.

Veronica watched the front door open and saw Madison smiling but she lost the smile quickly when she saw who was standing on her front stoop. "Hey, happy birthday," Veronica, Wallace, and Mac said smiling.

"What are you doing here?" Madison asked glaring at them.

"I came to celebrate your birth, but these two just wanna hook up," Wallace said stepping forward so Madison had to take a step back.

"I mean, who invited you?" Madison asked confused.

"That would be Seth Russell, from History?" Wallace said forcing Madison to let them in by taking another step forward. Veronica and Mac followed him smiling sweetly at the birthday girl.

"No, it was Adam Bunting," Veronica said shaking her head at Wallace.

"Adam Bunting. Isn't that the guy who looks like Fievel?" Mac asked catching onto their plan. Hanging out with Veronica was always a good time.

"No, no, that's Adam Hamilton. Nobody talks to him, he's poor," Veronica said smirking at Madison when she just stared at them. Confusing Madison was too easy.

"He so looks like Feivel," Mac said nodding her head.

"But...I didn't invite Adam!" Madison said loudly breaking into their conversation.

"I remember, it was Kevin Powell," Wallace said making a name up.

"Who?" Madison asked even more confused.

"Kevin Powell," Wallace said motioning for Mac and Veronica to go away. He had a whole conversation memorized that would keep Madison occupied for at least ten minutes.

Veronica walked beside Mac eyeing all the 09er's that she never talked to uneasily. The last 09er party she had crashed she'd gotten ridiculed, roofied and woke up missing her underwear. She wasn't excited to be back.

"I'm going to head over there," Mac said pointing to a hallway.

Veronica watched her walk and away but froze when she felt somebody grab her ass. Veronica turned around whipping her tazer out of her bag as she saw Dick standing behind her. He jumped when he saw the weapon in her hand. "Hey Dick," Veronica said scaring him with her smile. "Have you met my taser?"

"Woah Ronnie," Dick said taking a step back but Veronica just took a step forward. "I was just messing with ya."

Veronica opened her mouth but found herself being pulled out of the room and into…a bathroom. She looked up and glared at Logan who was staring down at her while shaking his head. "Hasn't anybody told you that you make better friends using sugar rather than…a taser?"

"Your assuming I want to make friends with anybody here," Veronica said sarcastically.

"What are you doing here?" Logan asked confused. You could have knocked him over with a feather when he'd looked across the room and seen her talking to Madison. She sure as hell hadn't been invited and it wasn't like her to crash another party. He remembered the pranks they'd pulled on her at the last party she'd crashed and felt his face flush. He felt nauseous just remembering the way they'd used her for body shots. He truly was an ass.

"I'm here for a friend," Veronica said pursing her lips. She had hoped to get through the night without talking to him. Luck was never on her side. "Don't worry I'll be gone soon."

"I'm not worried," Logan said scoffing at her. But he was worried for her. Nobody wanted her here, if she wasn't careful she could find herself in another situation like Shelley's party.

"Good," Veronica said glaring at him. She pushed passed him and out of the door. She watched as Madison opened a door only to start yelling at somebody. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was most likely Mac. She took off down the hall and pushed passed Madison only to find Mac about to make the biggest mistake of her life. "We were just leaving, right Mac? Happy birthday, Madison. Thanks for being such a gracious host. Martha Stewart has nothing on you."

Veronica pulled Mac out of the house leaving Wallace behind, he could handle himself. They made it to Veronica's car before she lost it. "What were you thinking Mac?"

"That could have been my life," Mac said tears running down her face.

Veronica turned around to pace only to find Wallace standing a couple feet away with Logan right behind him. She turned back around to stop Mac from saying anything else but was too late.

"I have a sister that I never knew about," Mac said her voice sounding hollow.

"And Madison has a brother," Veronica pointed out forgetting about Logan and Wallace so she could console her friend.

"They should have switched us back," Mac said getting angry. "We would have gotten over it or at least I would have."

Veronica sighed. "You were four Mac."

"So!" she yelled. "That is my life in there."

"No it's not!" Veronica yelled right back shocking everybody. "That isn't your life. You life at 9715 Colony Place. You have a Mother who obviously adores you and a brother that spends his life making you scream. You have parent's who love you, who care." Wallace stepped forward and touched Veronica's shoulder when her voice broke. She shrugged his hand off as she continued. "You don't want to be part of those people in that house. I was one of them Mac. It may look like gold from outside here but once you're in there with them, you see the truth. Be happy with what you have. You are lucky as hell."

She walked around her car and climbed in. She peeled away from Madison's house leaving both her friends stranded. But at the moment she didn't care. She wiped the tears that were falling away angry at herself for losing control. Mac didn't need somebody yelling at her. She needed somebody to hold her hand and bitch along side her at the world. She needed somebody better than Veronica.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everybody I am so sorry about the long wait. I have been really unmotivated when it comes to my stories. So I'm sorry, I'm sorry, and I'm sorry! I hope this chapter isn't disappointing. It wasn't an easy one to write. Some of you might be confused with the beginning of this chapter but I took out part of the last one because I liked the way this chapter flowed better. So i'm sorry for confusing you!**

**I hope I didn't lose any of you with the long hiatus. I am back now and I am already working on the next chapter. I'm noping it won't take me as long to update next time. **

**So Please read and review and let me know what you think.**

Veronica sat at her lunch table a couple days later. She stared down at her tray of food but couldn't bring herself to take a bite. She hadn't talked to Wallace and Mac for days and she didn't blame them for not calling her. She'd yelled at Mac and brushed off Wallace's attempt at calming her down and then she'd stranded them outside Madison Sinclair's house.

Plus she was feeling guilty for having used the new deputy. He was bound to get in trouble for leaving her unsupervised. But she had to find out who'd killed Lily. Abel Koontz hadn't done it. Now if only she could find somebody to help her with the unidentifiable voice that had called in accusing Abel Koontz of having done the crime. She would ask Mac but was sure she would get turned down.

"Hey Superfly," Wallace said sitting down across from her. He'd stood staring at her for a couple seconds before deciding that it would be best to ignore the other night. Something was going on in her life and she would either tell him or she wouldn't. He couldn't help it if he wished she trusted him with the information. He'd learned long ago that trust didn't come easy to Veronica.

"Hey Wallace," Veronica said softly. She wanted to say more but she was shocked once again by Mac who sat down between the two of them.

"Busy weekend?" Mac asked the two of them. She'd been pissed for about five minutes after Veronica had stranded her at the party but it hadn't taken any longer for her to realize that Veronica was right. She'd been out of line to walk into Madison's house and almost tell her the truth.

"Nah," Wallace said shaking his head. "Just a couple shifts at the Sac-N-Pack."

"We're getting ready for our annual camping trip at our house," Mac said making a face.

"You camping," Wallace said smiling.

"It's a good excuse to bring a bag of books and read," Mac said arching one eyebrow.

"Guys stop it," Veronica said finally breaking into their conversation. She'd been thrown for a loop when they'd both acted like nothing had happened.

"Stop what," Wallace said smiling at her.

"Stop pretending that I lost it at Madison's," Veronica said softly.

"You lost it," Mac said feigning confusion. She shared a look with Wallace who arched an eyebrow as if to say 'what now?' "I don't remember anybody losing it at the party, well, unless you count me almost telling somebody something that if they had the option they would choose ignorance over knowing."

"If you're talking about Madison," Logan said overhearing their conversation as he walked up to their table. "She always chooses ignorance…or more like it chooses her."

Veronica smiled as everybody laughed but she couldn't bring herself to join them. She was still surprised that she'd let herself get so worked up at another 09er party. She hated crying, despised losing control. It was trait most likely inherited from her father.

"Veronica?" Mac said noticing that she wasn't paying attention.

"Huh," Veronica said realizing that everybody was staring at her. "Oh I'm sorry…" Veronica jumped when her phone starting ringing but inside she was glad for the interruption. She walked away from the table when she didn't recognize the number on her display window.

"Hello?" she asked cautiously.

"Be at The Camelot in 15 minutes for information on your mother," a distorted voice said before hanging up.

Veronica stood there for a moment trying to place the voice but she didn't know who it was. She wasted another minute grabbing her book bag. She stared in dismay at the tray of food she'd been attempting to eat. "Wallace do you think…"

"I got it V," Wallace said recognizing Veronica's case mode.

"Thanks," Veronica said as she jogged away from their table.

"Is anybody else wondering who was on the phone?" Logan asked standing up.

"She's probably working a case," Wallace said shrugging his shoulders as he went back to his lunch.

Logan took another moment before taking off after her. He didn't know what exactly had bothered him about the phone call or Veronica's reaction to it but he couldn't let her leave without knowing who was on the phone or where she was going.

"Veronica wait up," Logan called ignoring the looks his friends were giving him as he chased after the girl he was suppose to hate.

"I have to go Logan," Veronica said without stopping.

"Where are you going?" Logan asked curiously. He finally caught up to her as she reached her car.

"None of your business," Veronica said grabbing the door handle.

"Who was one the phone?" Logan asked placing his hand on the driver's door so she couldn't open it.

"None of your business Logan," Veronica snapped repeating herself. She had thirteen minutes and didn't want to waste another minute arguing with Logan.

"I'm not letting you leave without an answer," Logan said calmly holding her gaze.

"It was my Dad…he needs some help," Veronica lied turning her head at the last second pretending interest in another car that was also leaving.

"I should have said an honest answer," Logan remarked not buying her explanation for a single second.

"Logan I have to go," Veronica said glaring at him. She sighed in relief when he removed his hand. She whipped open the door and climbed in quickly. She was putting the key into the ignition when the passenger door opened.

Logan wanted to smirk at the expression on her face as he climbed in and closed the door behind him. It was a mixture of shock, anger and what looked like a little relief. That was reason enough for Logan to put the seat belt on and adjust the seat so he was comfortable. Wherever she was going, she wasn't one hundred percent comfortable with it.

"What do you think you're doing?" Veronica said moving past the shock of having him just get in the car without permission.

"I thought you had to go," Logan said arching one eyebrow.

Veronica wasn't sure if she was okay with Logan coming along with her but with the clock ticking she didn't have much of a choice. She put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot, forgetting her seat belt.

"Who was on the phone Veronica?" Logan asked watching as her hands clenched the steering wheel.

"I don't know," Veronica finally admitted. She didn't want to admit that having him with her was a relief. She didn't know who she was going to meet and she was a little nervous.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Logan asked hoping she didn't mean that the way it sounded.

"The person on the phone told me I had fifteen minutes to be at the Camelot Motel," Veronica explained.

"You were going to meet a total stranger alone," Logan said slowly. "Are you an idiot?"

"No I'm not but thanks for asking," Veronica said sarcastically.

"What are you meeting them for?" Logan asked shaking his head at her. He couldn't believe she would meet a total stranger alone.

"About my mother," Veronica said softly praying he wouldn't hear her. She didn't know why she was telling him anything but it was almost like she couldn't stop herself from talking.

"Why do you need to meet somebody about your Mother?" Logan asked trying to keep his anger in check. Getting answers from her was like pulling teeth.

"It's a long story Logan," Veronica said as she pulled into the Camelot's parking lot.

"Give me the short one then," Logan said but was interrupted by Veronica's cell phone ringing.

Veronica took a deep breath a she turned the phone on and held it up to her ear. "Hello."

"You can follow directions…your mother couldn't," the voice said still disguised.

"What do you know about my mother?" Veronica asked hating that her voice started to tremble. She was suppose to be tough now, the old Veronica would be weak and cry, not the new one.

"Do you know where the old abandoned church five miles out of town is?" the voice asked ignoring her question.

"The one that was shut down because the Priest-," Veronica said but the person cut her off.

"Fifteen minutes," it said before hanging up.

"Dammit," Veronica said before pulling back onto the road.

"I take it he didn't answer your question," Logan commented.

"Logan," Veronica said blinking her eyes to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. "Not now please." This had been the first serious lead in her Mother's case and now it didn't even look like it would amount to anything except a wild goose chase.

"Veronica," Logan said but he was cut off by a car re-ending them. "What the hell? " Logan said turning around.

"Who is it?" Veronica asked as she slowed down. She didn't want to stop because she definitely wouldn't make it to the meeting place but her Dad would kill her if she didn't get the guy's insurance information.

"I can't tell," Logan said as the car sped up and hit them again. "I'm beginning to think it wasn't an accident."

Veronica gritted her teeth as she weaved back and forth across the road. She didn't have a clue about who was hitting the back of her car but it was beginning to piss her off.

"Veronica," Logan said turning to look at her. "Are you absolutely sure that phone call had something to do with your Mother?"

"Of course he told me to meet him for information," Veronica said swearing as she tasted blood in her mouth. The damn car had hit them again and she'd bit her tongue while talking.

"Maybe he never planned on giving you any information," Logan said calmly. Veronica was doing an excellent job of keeping them on the road, he didn't want to freak her out and have her lose control.

"God Dammit," Veronica said smacking her palm on the steering wheel. She hated when somebody got the best of her and whoever called her had done more than that. They were wrecking her car.

"We need to pull over," Logan said placing his hand on her leg to try and calm her down. It was his turn to swear when he noticed she didn't have her seat belt on. He reached over to get it but his head hit the radio when they were hit again.

"Logan," Veronica screamed as she finally lost control of the car and they went flying into the ditch. She could feel Logan tighten his hand on her leg as they struck something hard but then everything went black.

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"Veronica," Logan said sitting up, wincing as muscles he never knew he had made themselves known. He looked over to check on Veronica and wished the car that had run them off the road was right there so he could kill the person.

Veronica was laying against the door, unconscious and she was bleeding from the head from where her head must have hit the window hard enough to break it. Logan unbuckled himself going slowly making sure he hadn't hurt anything too important. In less than a minute he was leaning over Veronica trying to check her for injuries but the only thing he could see was the cut on her head that was bleeding pretty badly.

"Veronica!" somebody yelled outside the car opening the driver's side door. Weevil stared at the tiny blonde who had blood dripping down her face. He barely noticed Logan who was opening the passenger side door.

"You shouldn't move her," Logan said joining Weevil on the driver's side of the car.

"How long has she been out?" Weevil asked.

"I don't know," Logan said crouching down in the doorway. "Minutes maybe." He wanted to scream at her to wake up but for some reason he didn't think that would work. "Veronica…can you hear me?"

"We need to call an ambulance," Weevil said looking around.

"Not yet," Logan said placing his hand gently on her face. He smiled in relief when she started waking up moments later. He watched as she opened her eyes and closed them quickly. "No no, you need to wake up Ronnie."

"It hurts," she mumbled so softly Logan barely heard her.

"Of course it hurts," Logan said rolling his eyes. "You were just in a car accident and you weren't wearing a seat belt."

"I forgot," Veronica said opening her eyes again. She looked up at Logan and wanted to crack a joke at the look of worry on his face but she knew it wasn't the time.

"I'm calling 911 now," Weevil said pulling out his cell.

"Never thought you'd willingly call the police paco," Logan said beginning to stroke Veronica's cheek without even realizing it.

"Weevil?" Veronica asked confused.

"Right here chica," Weevil said stepping into her line of sight.

"When'd you get here?" Veronica asked still confused. 'How long was I out?' she asked herself silently.

"Saw the accident," Weevil said after speaking to the local dispatch, giving them their location.

"That was no accident," Logan said his tone of voice as cold as ice.

"Nah," Weevil agreed looking around. "That truck really wanted to run you off the road."

Logan stood up and stared at Weevil wondering how he'd just happened to show up. Their were no longer in town and Weevil didn't live in this direction as far as he knew. It was pretty coincidental for him to just witness the accident. So Logan asked him, no sense beating around the bush.

"I watched you leave," Weevil said staring the rich boy down. He'd never liked him, had hated him when Lily had been alive. She'd always painted him as a rich jackass who didn't give a damn about anything. But watching him with the young PI, Weevil was slowly realizing that Lily might not have been the most reliable source for information. "I was worried about Veronica so I followed."

"Did you see who was in the car?" Veronica asked slowly sitting up in her seat. She was getting a cramp in her side from slouching sideways.

"You aren't suppose to move," Logan said crouching back down in front of her.

"I'm not hurt Logan," Veronica said wanting to put him at ease. When both guys snorted she sighed. "So okay that's a lie. But nothing's broken."

"You are bleeding from a cut on your head," Logan commented. "You most likely have a concussion."

"Yeah probably," Veronica agreed finally looking around. "Well I guess I'm not going to make it to that church."

"I don't think you were ever supposed to," Logan pointed out. Veronica nodded her head as she stared out the windshield. "I'm sorry that you didn't get any information."

"But I did," Veronica said smirking for the first time. "I'm on to something Logan. Why else would somebody have tried so hard to scare me into stopping?"

"But who?" Logan asked her.

"What are you talking about?" Weevil asked from behind them.

Logan and Veronica shared a look. They both had forgotten the hoodlum was there and now they had to come up with a plausible story. Veronica looked up at Weevil and opened her mouth but was surprised to find that she couldn't think of a lie.

"It's a case," Logan said quickly when he realized her problem. "A friend of my family's looking into something and-"

Veronica sighed. "I'm trying to find out who really killed Lily Weevil." When he just stared at her she took a deep breath as she tried to explain. "I know Abel Koontz didn't do it but I can't prove it."

"I want to help," Weevil said surprising Logan.

"Why do you care?" he asked but they were interrupted as a police cruiser pulled up along with an ambulance.

"Veronica Mars," Sheriff Lamb said as he climbed out of his car. He'd been standing beside the dispatcher's desk when the call had come in. There had been no way he would miss this. "Car trouble?"

"If by car trouble you mean somebody running off the road then yes," Logan said glaring at the Sheriff. He'd never liked him, mostly because he was constantly breaking up 09er parties and taking their alcohol.

"And I should believe you why?" Lamb asked walking towards the car.

"Ahh, Sheriff, you might want to take a look back here," Deputy Sacks said from the back of the car.

Veronica watched as Lamb and Sacks in the rearview mirrors but she'd never been real good at reading lips. Soon the paramedics had her out of the car and sitting in the ambulance as they applied a butterfly bandage to the cut on her head. She watched as Logan and Weevil told Lamb what had happened but she couldn't tell from the look on Lamb's face if he believed them.

"Lamb wants to talk to you now," Logan said walking up to the ambulance. "I told him that you probably have to go to the hospital and that I'll drive you to the station later."

"I don't have to go to the hospital," Veronica said jumping down from the ambulance. She winced when her feet hit the ground. She had one of the worst headaches in the world but she would not go to the hospital.

"You hit your head pretty hard," Logan pointed out looking at the paramedics in confusion.

"She won't go," the girl said shrugging her shoulders as she packed up her medical equipment. "She has a mild concussion if you want my point a view and should be checked by a physician."

"She promised that she'd go to the emergency room if the pain was unbearable or she started vomiting uncontrollably," the guy paramedic said staring at Veronica like he knew she was just humoring them.

"I'll be fine," Veronica said waiting 'til they climbed into the ambulance and drove away. She turned to look at Logan and saw the disapproval written all over his face. "I am fine Logan."

"You need to be checked out by a doctor," Logan insisted but fell into step beside her as she headed towards Lamb and Sacks who were still interrogating Weevil.

"I don't understand how you just happened to be around to witness the accident Mr. Navarro," Lamb was saying.

"He's my friend Lamb," Veronica said interrupting them. "He followed me because he was worried. I know strange to think somebody actually cares about me in this town but there you go."

"Do you have any idea who would want to run you off the road?" Lamb asked but then smirked and Veronica knew what was coming before he even said anything. "Maybe the easier question would be who doesn't have a reason to want to run you off the road."

"No I don't know who wanted to run me off the road," Veronica said being honest with him. She just wanted him gone and if she cooperated he'd leave.

"Why were you headed out of town in the middle of a school day?" Lamb asked not believing her for a second.

"I was meeting somebody on a case I'm working," Veronica said staring straight at him. She didn't want him to ask too many questions, mainly because she didn't even know the answers.

"We'll be looking for the other vehicle involved Ms. Mars," Deputy Sacks said when Lamb had finished his questions. "Can you come in later to give us your signature?"

Veronica nodded and waited until they left before she headed back towards her car. Weevil had called his uncle to send a tow truck to come get the car but she wanted a look at it first. She hated that her eyes welled up when she saw the damage the person had inflicted on the Lebaron.

"It's just a car," she said to herself trying to calm down.

"Now you can get a new one," Logan commented. "This car was an embarrassment anyways."

"Like your Banana-Mobile is any better," Veronica said rolling her eyes. She wanted to ask him how he thought she could afford a new car but knew that he'd eventually figure it out for himself. Money was tight in the Mar's household.

"If Angel can't fix it V," Weevil said, "I know he can get you a great deal on a different car."

"A stolen car?" Logan inquired.

Veronica ignored the two guys as they started a verbal sparring. She walked around the whole car noting that the back end took most of the damage. Going into the ditch hadn't been good for the front end but that would be an easy fix. She really hoped Angel could fix her car, she didn't want a new one.

They all turned when they heard somebody honking their horn and Veronica grimaced when she saw Dick driving the Banana Mobile. If there was any male on the planet who was a complete idiot, it was Dick Casablancas.

"You let Dick drive your car," Veronica said as he pulled up along side them.

"Yo Logan," Dick said climbing down from the driver's side. "What are you doing with this skank?"

Veronica rolled her eyes at the unoriginal insult and leaned down into her car to grab her bag. She looked at Weevil, who motioned towards his bike, and nodded.

"I can give you a ride home," Logan said witnessing the exchange.

"Dude can you even hear yourself?" Dick asked confused. He thought Logan hated Veronica.

"That's okay Logan," Veronica said smiling innocently. "You've done your duty today of helping out the local 'skank'." She saw Weevil hiding a smirk as he led the way to his motorcycle. She couldn't handle a car ride with Dick, she had a big enough head ache as it was.

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Veronica waved one last time at Weevil who was parked right in front of the entrance to her apartment building. She knew he wouldn't leave until he saw her safely inside her apartment. She walked inside petting Backup who was begging to be let out. She grabbed his leash as she hit the button on the answering machine.

"Hey honey," Keith Mars said from his message on the machine. "I got a lead on that bail jumper I was telling you about. I should be back sometime tomorrow hopefully with a check. If you go anywhere take Backup. I'll call you later. Bye."

Veronica looked around the apartment uneasily. Normally being alone in the apartment was a relief. It was so small and her Dad had such a huge personality that it could be overbearing at times. But after the accident today, she wasn't sure if being alone was going to be a good thing.

Veronica led back up out of the apartment but froze when she saw Logan standing beside his yellow monstrosity. He must have just arrived since she hadn't seen him when Weevil had dropped her off. She took another moment before walking toward him. She was expecting anger for just leaving him and even annoyance for embarrassing him in front of Dick. Instead she was surprised to find him staring at her with a look of pure concern in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Logan asked quietly. He'd been angry when she'd walked away and climbed onto Weevil's bike. He was annoyed with Dick and his incessant chatter on how much he hated Veronica Mars. He didn't even know her really, how could he hate her?

But now with Veronica standing in front of him with a bandage on her head he just wanted to know if she was really okay. Seeing her unconscious even for a couple minutes brought back all the feelings he had when Lily had died. He wasn't sure what that meant and he wasn't ready to deal with it. But he had to know she was okay.

"My head hurts," Veronica answered honestly. She decided to surprise him this time and held out her hand for him to hold as they walked towards the beach.

"I'm sorry about Dick," Logan said knowing she would shrug it off and he was right.

"Dick doesn't bother me," she said smiling.

"Still," Logan said simply.

"I'm sorry I got you in a car accident," Veronica said breaking the silence that had taken over for a couple minutes.

"I'm glad I was there," Logan said his turn to smile.

"Me too," Veronica said feeling her face flush. She wracked her brain trying to find something to say to change the subject but she kept coming up empty.

"I do have one question that never got answered," Logan said. "Why were you meeting somebody about your Mother? Does it have something to do with the picture?"

"I don't know," Veronica said truthfully. "They didn't say what they knew or why they were telling me anything. Probably because they don't know anything and they just had to get me out of town to scare me a little."

"I don't want you to go meet people on your own like that Veronica," Logan said waiting for her to blow up.

"I don't always have time to take somebody with me-" Veronica argued.

"I'll get your father involved if I have to," Logan interrupted her. "I've lost a friend already Veronica. A friend that I cared a lot about. I can't lose another one."

Veronica sighed as she finally reached her favorite spot on the beach. She unhooked Backup's leash and sat down patting the sand beside her so Logan would know to sit down. She didn't want him to involve her father and it was nice having him admit that he cared that much about her. But she hated being told what to do.

"I'm sorry you lost Lily…I know how much you cared about her," she said staring out at the water. "But I know what's best for me. I have to find my Mom and I have to find out what really happened to Lily that day."

"Will you at least let me help?" Logan asked hating that he was basically pleading with her. He never begged for anything. "I don't want you to ever be alone if another situation like today happens."

Veronica stared at him and knew that she had two choices to choose from. She could either let him help her and possibly let Logan Echoll's fully back into her life or she could tell him she worked better alone and risk never having him in her life at all. It was a little unsettling to find out that the thought of never having Logan in her life made her stomach queasy.

"You can help," Veronica said quietly staring at him hoping that she wasn't making a mistake. She'd thought hanging out with him days ago had been a big first step but this was like a giant leap compared to that. For the first time in a long time she knew that she'd made the right choice.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everybody! So my reviews for the last chapter were way down. So that leads me to believe that I lost a lot of people with my long hiatus. So I don't know how much longer I'll continue with the story. If you don't have anybody reading it...what's the point in writing it. Yeah so but I did update a lot sooner this time. Aren't you proud of me. :) I just bought season 3 of Veronica Mars and lets just say that helps me get inspired. It's not my favorite season but there are a lot of great LoVe moments. **

**Well I hope I get some of my old reviewers back or some new ones. Please Review, they help me out, I swear.**

**So I already posted this but I talked to a certain somebody and I left out their favorite part so I put it in. I know it's directly from the show but she asked so nicely. So that part is for you Jesi.**

Veronica sat at her favorite lunch table waiting for Logan to arrive. Ever since she'd told him a week ago that he could help her with Lily's and her Mom's cases he'd been hanging out with her. His friends were starting to notice and rumors were already starting to fly. The rumor's didn't bother her but then again, they weren't her friends.

"Hey," Logan said sitting down beside her. He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked exhausted.

"Somebody party a little too hard last night," Veronica asked arching an eyebrow.

"I wish," Logan said looking down at his hands. "My parents…lets just say it's not a happy time at the Echoll's household."

Veronica stared at the back of his head and wished there was something she could do. Back when they'd been friends, before Lily had died, she would have known what to say. She would have known what was going on behind the walls of the Echoll's estate. Now she didn't have a clue.

"Did you hear the latest?" Logan asked changing the subject.

"Latest on what," Veronica said allowing the change. She didn't have any right to push the subject of his parents, it wasn't her place anymore. They were just starting to hang out again, she wouldn't even call them friends really, not yet.

"The Guidance counselor got a grant to study the long term effects of grief in adolescents," Logan explained surprised she hadn't heart yet.

"Oh that news," Veronica said. "Yeah I heard and I don't want any part of it."

"Anyone who even remotely knew…Lily Kane is suppose to meet with her," Logan said hating that he could barely say her name. It was always like that, it hurt to even think about her. "How'd you get out of it?"

"I said I don't want any part of it," Veronica pointed out. "Doesn't mean I got out of it. No I am told that I have more issues besides Lilly dying." When Logan looked at her in confusion she continued. "My Mom left shortly after she died and my Dad lost his job. I should hate the world don't you know?"

"Why don't you?" Logan asked honestly. If he'd had as many hits as Veronica had had in the past year he probably wouldn't still be sitting here.

"I was…for awhile," Veronica admitted. "I've already dealt with my pain. I've moved onto anger and I find that I'm not ready to let go of it yet. Not until I find out the truth behind what happened that day."

"What if we don't find out what happened?" Logan asked the one question that Veronica didn't let herself think about.

"I will," Veronica said knowing that by sheer will alone she wouldn't give up until she knew the truth. "Abel Koontz didn't do it…so I'll find out who did."

"You mean we will," Logan said wondering if she would really let him be a part of the investigation or if she'd keep him in the dark.

"Okay," Veronica said nodding her head. "We will."

They were interrupted by Veronica's name being called over the intercom to report to the Guidance Counselor's office. She made a face as she stood up, gathering her stuff along the way.

"She can't make you talk to her," Logan said wanting Veronica to know she didn't have to speak to her.

"No she can't," Veronica agreed. "But if I want to plant a bug in her office I need to go in and at least pretend."

"A bug?" Logan asked smiling.

"Somebody close to Lily knows what went down that afternoon," Veronica explained. "I know recording what somebody says in private with a counselor isn't…right but somebody is bound to confide something. No matter how small."

"I meet with her later today," Logan said standing up so he could walk her to the office.

"I won't listen to it if you ask me not to," Veronica said surprising him. Logan stared at her for a moment before he smiled at her.

"You can listen to it," he said glad that she'd at least offered to let him keep his privacy. "I have no secrets when it comes to Lily."

"Okay," Veronica said taking a deep breath before she entered the Guidance Counselor's office waiting room. She looked back at Logan one last time but the warning bell rang and Logan had to get to his first class. She waved before taking her seat, mentally reviewing her plan of action for the interview. She wasn't going to give any of her feelings away. She didn't like Rebecca James and she wouldn't confide in her.

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Veronica was glaring as she made her way to her locker. Rebecca had kept her in her office for almost all of first period which really pissed her off. She'd asked to leave countless times but Rebecca had tried everything to get her to break. But she didn't.

Now she had to go to her locker and deal with Sheriff Retard and his Deputy Dumbass. They couldn't possibly be doing another locker test for drugs but why else would they want her at her locker.

"Sending out the big guns in the morning. I'm flattered," she joked when she saw them waiting at her locker.

"Veronica, the sheriff wants to have a look inside your locker," Principal Clemmons said rolling his eyes at her sarcasm.

"Course he does," Veronica said as she put her combination into her locker. "Just out of curiosity, what are you gentlemen hoping to find in here? Al Capone? The Lindbergh baby?"

"We have reason to believe that you are manufacturing and distributing fake driver's licenses," Lamb explained.

"Ooo, that's a new one," Veronica said wondering why he always came to her first.

"It's a second degree felony," Lamb pointed out.

"Lord knows, I hate to disappoint you boys…"Veronica said pulling open her locker. She stared in shock as blank ID's spill out all over the floor. She watched as Lamb bends down and flicks through them. "Wait a minute, those aren't mine."

_Lamb rises with one of the cards in his hand. He smirks._

"I'm gonna need to search your purse as well. Either we can do this here…"Lamb said rising with one of the cards in his hands while smirking.

"Or down at the station?" Veronica gasps still needling him. She handed him her bag and watched him dig out her wallet and flip through it.

"Lilly Kane's driver's license. Driver's license for a twenty two year old Veronica Mars. San Diego State student ID. Licensed massage therapist," Lamb said as she looked at each one.

"Oh yeah. Those are mine," Veronica said a little fear going through her when he pulled out the handcuffs. "You really don't have to do that."

"You're right about that. But I'm going to anyway," Lamb said his smirk even more pronounced.

"And Veronica, don't bother coming back to school for the next three days. You're suspended," Principal Clemmons said watching as Sheriff Lamb drug her away.

Veronica saw Logan standing off to the side and she made a face as Lamb dug the cuffs into her wrists more than he needed to. She could already hear the new rumors starting and one person even yelled out something but all she could hear was Logan.

"She didn't do it," Logan said starting to follow them but Weevil stopped him.

"All that's going to do is get you arrested to," he pointed out. He hated seeing Veronica in cuffs. If there was one person in this world who didn't deserve that humility, it was her.

"She didn't do whatever they said she did," Logan said getting angry at the biker.

"I know that and you know that," Weevil said calmly. He looked around at his fellow students and finally stopped one by grabbing onto his shoulder. "You know what the Sheriff arrested Veronica for?"

"Fake ID's," the guy said staring at Weevil in fear. "She had…uh…some in her wallet…hers and Lily Kanes."

"Okay so she might have something to do with it," Logan said heading towards the exit. He wasn't going to sit around the school while Veronica was fingerprinted and booked on some dumb charges. His Dad had more than enough money to get her out within the hour.

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Logan knocked on Veronica's apartment door later that day. According to Cliff, Veronica had been released due to not enough evidence but she was still their number one suspect. He didn't know what kind of mood to expect behind the door but he never thought he'd find Weevil and Wallace sitting on the couch watching Veronica who was sitting at the island on her computer.

Mac stared at Logan unsure of what she should do. She knew Veronica and Logan had been seen hanging out at school but did she want him in her apartment? "Veronica, you have company."

"Who is it?" she asked distractedly.

"Logan," Mac said still not letting him in.

Veronica turned away from the computer and nodded at Mac to let him in. She still couldn't believe that he'd been about to chase down the sheriff to defend her. For all he knew she had done it. She had planted a bong in his locker not to long ago, why wouldn't she be involved in something else as shady.

"Are you okay?" Logan asked a little embarrassed to have an audience but he'd been worried about her all day.

"I've had better days," Veronica admitted. She knew everybody was staring at them so she turned back to her computer.

"What do they think you did?" Logan asked walking up so he was standing behind her.

"I am supposedly making fake ID's," Veronica said rolling her eyes. "Which I have done before but I'm not stupid enough to make them for my fellow classmates. Only people I really like get one."

"Why do they think you did it?" Weevil asked walking up behind her now too.

"Because some kid named Rick claims I sold him one," Veronica said still pissed about that. "I didn't," she added just in case they thought she had.

"Does this kid know who he's messing with?" Wallace joked from his seat in the living room.

"Obviously not," Veronica muttered. "He also said they told him to say my name. Now my question is who is they?"

"Did he tell you?" Logan asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"No we're suppose to talk tomorrow at school," Veronica said.

"Ahh…" Mac said from her seat on the couch. "Did you forget that you were suspended? If you're caught on campus you could get expelled."

"Shit," Veronica said closing her eyes.

"I'll talk to him," Weevil said cracking his knuckles as he smirked.

"We need answers not a bloody pulp," Logan said rolling his eyes.

"Oh I'll get answers," Weevil said winking at Veronica when she turned to look at him.

"Thanks," she said offering him a smile. She turned to Wallace and smiled at him but he just looked worried. "I need a favor from you Wallace."

"Why me?" Wallace asked even though he was sorta proud to be chosen before Logan. "Does my mission include seducing the head cheerleader?"

"I'll do it," Logan offered shaking his head at Wallace's question.

"I need Wallace to ask around for a fake ID," Veronica explained turning to Logan. "Sorry Logan but nobody is going to believe that you need a fake ID." She turned back to Wallace to finish asking for her favor. "I need you to ask around and if that involves seducing the head cheerleader, so be it." She made a face as she said it because everybody knew the head cheerleader was Madison Sinclair.

"Alright," Wallace said knowing that he would never ask Madison Sinclair for a single thing.

"What can I do?" Logan asked hoping she had something for him to do.

"Can you help Weevil?" Veronica asked and she saw his face fall and knew he thought she'd given him something to keep him busy. "As much as I trust Weevil, I don't know if Rick will, but he will talk to you."

"Okay," Logan agreed but both Weevil and him looked at each other in disgust.

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"Hello?" Rick called walking into the men's restroom. He'd gotten a text message telling him to be in the restroom in five minutes.

"Who framed Veronica?" Weevil asked banging a door open as he stepped out of a stall. He watched as Rick turned to leave but Logan stood there leaning against the bathroom door smirking.

"Where do you think you're going?" Logan asked.

"I'm suppose to…to talk to Veronica," Rick stuttered.

"You're dumbass prank got her suspended," Logan said taking a step towards him. "She can't be caught on school grounds so we're here in her place."

"Lucky for us…not so lucky for you," Weevil added.

Rick looked between the two guys and it only took him two seconds of thinking about it before he was confessing. "They're called the Tritons. It's a secret society at school."

Weevil looks at Logan who was nodding. "I've heard of them…go on."

"The Tritons have been around as long as Neptune High. Six new members are inducted their junior year by the six seniors. Tim and I were among their pledges," Rick explained.

"Who's in charge?" Weevil asked.  
"No one even knows for sure who the brothers are," Rick said helplessly.

"Then who invited you to join?" Weevil asked cracking one of his knuckles.

"Two weeks ago, I found a note in my locker," Rick said quickly gulping when Weevil cracked another knuckle.

"So this was all part of a hazing ritual?" Logan asked confused.

"The twelve labours. The first few challenges weren't so bad. But on Friday when I opened up my locker, I found a fake ID with my yearbook picture on it. The instructions said we were supposed to go to a bunch of bars and have a shot at each of 'em." Rick explained turning to face Logan. Between the two, he trusted the 09er more.

"Let me guess. Twelve?" Weevil asked taking a step closer smirking when Rick paled.

"Tim passed out at the eleventh. All the other pledges freaked out and left me there to take care of him so I-I threw him in the car and I took him to the hospital as fast as I could," Rick said stuttering again.

"If they're so secret, how do you know all this?" Logan asked confused.

"My dad was a Triton. So were my two older brothers," Rick said. "If they found out that I betrayed their secrets, let's just say I'd be better off in jail. These guys will destroy your life, it's their mission statement."

"So that makes it okay to frame one of my friends," Weevil said taking another step towards him.

"I know that now and I'm sorry. You've gotta believe me. After what they did to Tim? And now his family's threatening to sue me? I can't even talk to my own dad about it. He calls me a coward and a traitor for what I did. But how can I belong to a club that almost killed my best friend? All I want now is for the Tritons to go down," Rick said honestly praying they believed him.

"So, who are the other pledges?" Logan asked curiously.

"Anyone who's anyone. The Tritons supposedly chose the best guys in everything: academics, sports…they're pretty much the six guys you'd expect," Rick explained.

"We want their names," Logan said already guessing one of them but Rick confirmed his suspicions in the next moment.

"Harry Diddon, Steve Argo, Matt Barone, Duncan Kane," Rick said but Logan quit listening when he heard Duncan's name. Veronica wasn't going to be happy about this.

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Veronica sat on her couch surrounded by Weevil, Logan and Wallace. It was after school and they all wanted to tell her what they'd found. "So let me get this straight," she said. "There's a secret society at school named the Tritons and Duncan is involved. Why am I not surprised?" She couldn't help but hold out hope that he didn't know his Triton buddies were trying to frame her for something she had no part in. She turned to Wallace and smiled at him. "Please tell me some good news."

"Sorry," Wallace said. "Nobody knows anything about fake ID's at school. Unless you count your being arrested in front of everybody for selling fake ID's."

"Grr," Veronica said annoyed.

"But then, this afternoon, a kid from my biology class, comes into Sac'n'Pac, buys a six pack from my boss, like it was no problem," Wallace said watching as the light came into her eyes.

"Did you figure out where he got his fake?" she asked hopefully.

"Slow down. This is my story. Followed him out to the parking lot and I was like "Yo, fella, check it out. You're on Candid Camera," Wallace said smiling when they all rolled their eyes as he replicated his action of pointing out cameras. "Gave him the four-one-one on our video playback capabilities, you know, leaned on him. Like I was Shaft or somethin'."

"Shut yo' mouth!" Veronica exclaimed making them all laugh.

"Long story short-" Wallace continued.

"Ha!" Logan and Weevil said at the same time.

"The guy claimed that there's a mystery locker at school," Wallace said ignoring them.

"Ooo, I like it already," Veronica said her interest piqued already.

"Here's how it works. You put your name and two hundred and fifty bucks in locker one-ten first thing in the morning. Come afternoon, brand spanking new license that says you were born in 1983 arrives in your locker," Wallace explained.

"Are you willing to put $250 into some strange locker just to see if this works?" Veronica asked hopefully.

"Hell, no. I'm using your money," Wallace said holding out a hand. But before anybody could do anything Logan put 250 dollars in his hand.

"I'll pay it," he said and he smiled when Veronica smiled at him. He really did like making her smile.

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Veronica sat in her car outside the school. It really sucked that she couldn't be inside. She never would have thought she'd be wishing she could go to school but at least she knew her reasons had nothing to do with her classes. She wanted to be involved in catching the assholes who were trying to frame her. She turned the dial on her radio to the frequency that was in Rebecca James's office and sat up when she heard Logan's voice.

"_**We were together since junior high," Logan said talking about him and Lily.**_

_**"Off and on?" Rebecca asked.**_

"_**Yeah, off and on," Logan said softly. He couldn't help but remember the good times between Lily and him. Back before high school and all the issues that came with it.**_

_**  
"And at the time of her murder you were-" Rebecca said but Logan cut her off.**_

_**  
"Off!" Logan said sharply but then more calmly. "Temporarily."**_

_**  
"Why were you broken up?" Rebecca asked writing down the information.**_

_**  
"Uh, we were supposed to go to this party. And, uh, Lilly was pissed at me for something," Logan said laughing but there wasn't any humor in it. "I can't even remember what, you know. And, uh…Lilly stands me up. I end up getting pretty hammered and… wind up kissing this other girl for like three seconds."**_

_**  
"And Lilly saw you two?" Rebecca asked.**_

_**  
"Nope, someone else did," Logan said picturing Veronica's face. He was still pissed that she had gotten involved in what he considered Lily and his business but lately he couldn't help but think she'd been looking out for Lily. "Word is you are pretty close to her **_father."

_**"You need to leave my personal life out of this, Logan," Rebecca reprimanded him.**_

"_**Yeah, let's not get personal about this," Logan said sarcastically. He was just sitting here pouring out his feelings but he couldn't comment on her. **_

_**  
"You know what, it sounds like you might blame Veronica," Rebecca said making him sit up.**_

_**  
"You know Veronica was my friend too." Logan explained. "And if she hadn't ratted me out…then Lilly and I would have stayed together. And Lilly wouldn't have been alone that day. I would have been there. So, yeah, I blame Veronica."**_

Veronica sat in the car tears running down her face as she listened to Logan. She never knew he blamed her for Lily's death. She'd always thought he'd blamed her for the investigation…but to blame her for Lily's death? She moved to shut off the radio but Logan was still talking.

"_**And I blame myself for being stupid and I blame Lilly for being a bitch that week," Logan said shaking his head at how stupid they all used to be. **_

"_**You know there is another of looking at this, Logan. If you'd still been together, you might be dead too," Rebecca pointed out. **_

Veronica waited because she knew Logan couldn't let that statement go without saying something sarcastic but what he said made her blood run cold.

"_**And what is so great about living?" Logan asked seriously.**_

He couldn't honestly believe what he was saying, Veronica thought wishing she could walk into that school and latch on to him. Life did suck, she agreed with him on that but she didn't want to die. There were so many things she wanted to do first. Had to do…talking to him about the past...and the present had just moved up on her list. It was now number two behind solving the current case so she could talk to him without bars separating them.

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Logan, Wallace and Veronica sat in her living room watching Veronica's computer where the tracker she'd put on Duncan's car was on the move. Wallace was going on and on about his basketball practice while Logan and Veronica couldn't help but think about Logan's interview with Rebecca James. Logan didn't know if she'd listened yet but she was bound to soon. Veronica kept replaying what Logan had said over and over in her mind. It made for one uncomfortable car ride.

"'Course you two aren't listening to word I say. So I might as well have said, "blah blah blah, blah, blabbity blah blah," Wallace said breaking into both their thoughts.

"Mm-hm. How'd you like to go on a little field trip? Duncan's on the move and if we hurry, we might be able make it for the branding and the blood sacrifice," Veronica said getting excited about actually doing something in her own case.

"Actually, I planned on hitting a few bars. I found this little beauty in my locker after seventh period," Wallace said holding out an ID card.

"Let me see that," Veronica said yanking it out of his hands. She examines it and makes a face. "The ink is bleeding at the edges, the hologram is missing and…"

"What?" Logan asked leaning in closer so he could see what was bothering her.

"The photo...is that your yearbook picture, Wallace?" Veronica asked her best friend.

"So what?" Wallace said shrugging his shoulders.

"So this is a $250 piece of crap. Now I'm not just falsely accused, I'm genuinely offended," Veronica said causing both guys to smile and shake their heads at her. Leave it to Veronica Mars to be more offended about the look of the ID's instead of the framing.

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Veronica and Logan walked down the stairs into the club that Duncan's car was parked in front of. They both stared in shock at Duncan who was swinging Karaoke badly, very badly.

"And he's not even drunk," Logan said wincing as Duncan hit a particularly bad note.

"Nice performance, Duncan. I was wondering if you could introduce me to a few of your Triton buddies," Veronica said walking right up to him after he'd finished.

"Brawny gods just flocked up to quiz and vex him," Duncan said.

"If you could just tell me who's in charge then I can…" Veronica tried again but he tried to walk right passed her. "…personally thank him for putting fake IDs in my locker and getting me hauled off to the sheriff's department." She could tell that he honestly didn't know she'd been implicated by the Tritons but he didn't tell them anything useful either.

"Quick wafting zephyrs vex bold Jim, I…" Duncan went on.

"That's very illuminating. Forget about me for a second. Tell me about Sunday night, you do know that the Tritons are responsible for putting a kid in the hospital, right?" Veronica asked trying to appeal to his compassionate side but that didn't even budge him.

"Tim is in a coma right now because of what your secret club forced him to do. Can you live with that, Duncan?" Logan asked causing Duncan to jump. He hadn't even known his best friend was there.

"The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog, I…" Duncan said walking away from them quickly.

"Ugh," Veronica said walking towards an empty table. They both sat their for awhile listening to the bad singers before Veronica stood up so they could leave. She wasn't getting anywhere and her ears were starting to ring. They both start heading towards the door when somebody bumps into them and drops a piece of paper on the floor.

"The judges hold the vital scores. You shall hear my voice once I've heard yours. The Great Triton," Veronica read out loud sharing a look with Logan.

Logan stood there smiling as the MC yelled out Veronica's name. "Looks like I'll actually hear a good singer tonight."

"Huh..what?' Veronica asked surprised. She didn't mind singing because she did have a decent voice but she didn't know Logan knew that. She slowly made her way towards the stage as the crowd chanted "sing…sing….sing."

Logan started laughing when he heard the opening lines to Blondie's One Way or Another. Leave it to Veronica to pick a song that clearly spoke of her intentions. Logan gave her two thumbs up as encouragement.

"This song goes out to my friends in the Tritons," Veronica said before launching into the song.

Logan and the rest of the crowd clapped obnoxiously and all the judges awarded her nines and tens. She truly had been one of the best of the entire night. She saw Duncan beaming from his seat and sent a glare his way.

"Thank you," Veronica said before walking off the stage.

Logan held up another note that had appeared some time while she was onstage. "Sorry, I didn't see who dropped it off." They both headed towards the bathroom, Logan ignoring the alone remark and busted a kid for standing in as a Triton. Veronica strode out of the club moving beyond angry to really pissed off.

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Veronica sat in her car listening to Duncan talking to Rebecca James. He kept mentioning medication and depression. The depressing she could understand, she was a little depressed too. But the medication bothered her. Plus the loss of memory. What had happened between the time of the soccer practice and Lily's death? Was Duncan involved?

"Hey!" Veronica yelled as somebody pulled the cover away from her car. Soon she was bound and locked in her own trunk. She was never telling her father about this moment, he would laugh his ass off. She pulled out her cell phone and placed a call but she got Wallace's cell phone. She sat for another moment before she dialed Duncan's number. She still didn't know how to act around him since she'd listened to his conversation with the counselor but she knew he'd get her out of her car.

It took almost half an hour before she heard another car pull up beside her. Soon the tarp was being removed and Logan was opening her trunk.

"Who in the hell did this?" Logan asked steaming mad.

"I'll tell you all about it later, Logan. Right now I have to track down Duncan and figure out where the Tritons are meeting tonight," she said hurrying into the front seat of her car where she saw that they were located in the school…where they currently were.

Logan climbed into his Xterra and waited for Veronica who'd gone into the school to take pictures of the Triton's. He hated waiting outside but she was going to need a get away car and he was the only other person here so he was picked. Veronica wouldn't let him near her pricey camera. Drop one once when you were 14 years old and you were forever named slippery fingers.

He watched as Veronica came barreling out of the school with a bunch of guys right behind her. He put the car into gear and as soon as Veronica climbed into the passanger seat he peeled away.

"Did you get what you needed?" Logan asked praying that they wouldn't have to do this again another day.

"I got the money shot," Veronica said smiling excitedly. Getting the perfect picture to prove somebody's innocence or guilty always put a smile on her face. Especially when she was proving her own innocence.

Logan drove her back to her house where they both sat and watched the footage of the locker ID drop and the pictures of her camera. They were both confused for a moment but soon Veronica sat up and smirked.

"I know how they did it," she said crossing her arms over her chest.

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"Your court date isn't until next Tuesday, right?" Lamb asked walking into his office where Veronica sat flipping through a magazine.

"We might as well go ahead and cancel that while I'm here," Veronica said smiling.

"Really? Why's that?" Lamb asked in disbelief. He picks up the donuts with disdain and tosses the box along the desk.

"Well I thought, for a change, you might be interested in having the real criminal stand trial," Veronica said shrugging her shoulders. "In the meantime, I'm gonna have a seat in your lounge." Veronica held up a magazine. "Learn how to turn men into jelly with a new way of walking and wait for the bad guy to turn himself in."

"I don't have time for your games," Lamb said glaring at her.

"And I don't have time to," Veronica said holding her fingers up in air quotes, "wrongfully tamper with a government issued document if I'm stuck here in your office. I'll make you a little deal, Lamb." She rose and walked towards him. "If I don't deliver the person who put Tim in the hospital by 5pm today, I promise to walk, with a little something extra, into the courthouse on Tuesday and plead guilty to anything you want to throw at me."

"What do I have to do?" Lamb sighed.

"Just pick a name," Veronica said handing him the yearbook out of her bag. "Write the name of any student on this post-it, put it in the envelope and have one of your minions drop it into locker one-ten. By the end of the day, that kid'll have a fake ID and you'll have yourself a crook. And I'll be sittin' over here, chillin' like a villain."

Veronica called Rick and then made herself comfortable the in the chair provided in Lamb's office. She couldn't wait to see the look on Lamb's face when he realized she really hadn't done it. And she didn't have to wait long.

"The thing about a felony charge is, it doesn't get wiped off your record just because you turn eighteen. It's like this black eye that you have the whole rest of your life," Lamb said walking into his office to find Veronica still sitting in the chair.

"Is he here yet?" Rick asked standing in the office.

"He just arrived," Veronica said standing up.

"Uh, it's just like she said. Found the fake in his locker," Sacks said walking into the office. He handed the ID to Lamb who examines it.

"Process of elimination. I didn't do it," Veronica said smirking.

"What, me? Are you crazy?" Rick asked looking between Veronica and Lamb.

"How else do you explain the two fifty in your wallet?" Veronica asked smiling at him.

"Cough it up," Lamb said holding out his hand.

"Big deal, this money's mine. It doesn't prove anything," Rick said taking out his wallet.

"Why don't you take a closer look at the one on top," Veronica said watching as Lamb grabs the money Rick had pulled from his wallet. "Read what's written over Grant's head."

"Veronica Mars is... " Lamb grimaces, "smarter than me."

"Oh, you stop it!" Veronica said slapping his arm.

"So this is Rick's locker that Deputy Sacks put the envelope in this morning?" Sacks asked.

"Not exactly," Veronica said and she went on to explain about their fake ID business. She told them all about how he tried to pin it on the Tritons but how it was him all along. "So when you were called into the office, you dumped a bunch of blank IDs and you blamed me. But why me? Was is just because people would believe that I did it?"

"I'll right. Since you asked. Last year your dad was hired to track down a hedge fund manager for embezzlement. That was my father. Only the newspapers never mentioned that his company cheated him out of his bonus three years running. They took our house, they took our cars. Eventually, my parents got a divorce. You must be proud," Rick said glaring at her as Lamb had Sacks handcuff him.

Veronica stood there for a moment and took in all of Rick's accusations. She remembered the case but she didn't remember the details. She didn't feel an ounce of remorse for his father, if you stole something, you were wrong. End of discussion. But she did feel bad for Rick but that didn't give him the right to try and place the blame on her. She'd had nothing to do with that case.

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"So what are you going to do about the tritons?" Logan asked a couple days later at Veronica's favorite lunch table. He'd started sitting there earlier in the week and found that he liked their table better than his own, go figure. Wallace was at practice and who knew where Mac had gone.

"Nothing," Veronica said simply.

"You're just going to let them get away with stuffing you in the trunk of your car," Logan said surprised. That didn't seem like the Veronica Mars way of doing things.

"It's not one of my prouder moments but they honestly didn't do anything wrong," Veronica said. "I was going after the wrong people."

Logan nodded his head but he stared at Duncan who was staring back at the both of them from his seat at the 09er table. He hadn't really talked to him in days and every time he did he felt guilty because he knew this big secret about him and Veronica and he couldn't tell him. It wasn't his place to be the bearer of bad news.

"When are you going to tell Duncan about…you know?" Logan asked carefully knowing it was still a sore subject.

"I don't know that I have to," Veronica said also openly staring at Duncan now.

"You can't let him-" Logan started to say but Veronica interrupted him.

"I can't let him what," Veronica said staring at Logan now. "He knows Logan or at least suspects." When Logan just stared at her waiting for more information she sighed. "Why else did he break up with me the way he did? Somebody told him…maybe Jake or Celeste, I don't know. But he knows."

"God this is so messed up," Logan said slamming his hand down on the table.

"Our life is just one big soap opera now isn't it," Veronica said smiling sadly. She was silent for another moment before she brought up the subject that they'd both been ignoring for days. "I never knew you blamed me…for Lily's death."

"I don't really blame you," Logan said but stopped when he realized how dumb he would be for trying to deny something that was obviously true.

"It's okay," Veronica said shaking her head to cut him off. "I blame myself too. That's why I'm so hard on myself when it comes to finding out the truth. I owe her."

"That's not true," Logan said shaking his head this time. He couldn't believe that she would honestly blame herself. She had nothing to do with whoever killed Lily Kane. She hadn't even been around that night.

"I just hope that I can solve her case," Veronica said softly. "She deserves to have the truth out." Logan nodded his head because he did agree with that. Lily did deserve to rest in peace with her killer behind bars. "Plus, whoever really did kill her is still out there…somewhere…living when Lily can't. And that really pisses me off." Logan stared at her and had no doubt, for the first time, that Veronica would solve Lily's case.


	10. Chapter 10

**I am so sorry! I know I fell off the face of the Earth but I do have my reasons. I won't bore you with all the details but my life has changed so much that being able to concentrate or find any interest in this story was not possible. But I am back and ready to finish the story. I hope I haven't lost anybody but I wouldn't be surprised if I have. Please review and tell me what you think. I love this story and I love LoVe. I'm ready to let the sparks fly. **

Veronica stared down at the tabloids laying on her desk at Mars Investigations. In a million years she hadn't seen this coming. Lynn Echoll's had always seemed like such a tough individual, putting up with all the press and crazy fans for years couldn't have been easy. So what made her upset enough to jump off the bridge?

"Did she really leave a note on a Blackberry?" Wallace asked flipping through his own copy of the magazine.

"Yeah. Talk about post-modern," Veronica joked.

"How's Logan holding out?" Wallace asked hesitantly.

"He hasn't been at school since," Veronica said softly. "I tried calling but he's either turned his phone off or he's screening his calls."

Wallace watched as Veronica's father walked out of his office slowly, holding his back. He smiled as he watched them interact. It had been the first thing he noticed, their mutual admiration for each other. It wasn't just a healthy father daughter relationship, they truly cared and respected each other. It wasn't something you saw very often…if ever.

Wallace heard the door open behind him and turned. He stood up quickly when he saw Logan standing there. He didn't look so good. He obviously hadn't showered in awhile and his clothes had been slept in more than once. "Ah…Veronica…you've got company."

"And eat fiber…" she said her voice trailing off when she saw Logan standing in the entry way. "Logan," she said before hurrying over to him. She forgot that anybody else was in the room as she took his hand and led him to the now empty couch.

"She doesn't even remember we're here," Wallace said as he stood beside Keith.

"No she doesn't," Keith said softly. He stared at his daughter and felt another crack in his heart.

The first time he'd felt his heart crack was when Veronica had gone off to kindergarten. His baby was no longer a baby. The second had been when she'd became friends with the Kane's. Leanne had been ecstatic for her own personal reasons but he'd been more cautious. He saw how the rich and famous could be, he didn't know if he wanted his daughter around that. The third crack would have to be watching as she handed her heart to Duncan on a silver platter. The fourth had been when she'd come home from school with tears running down her face. She couldn't hide from him the hurt her old friends were causing her by ostracizing her. But this time it was different. Veronica was no longer that naive little girl who needed protection. So as he stood there watching her take care of Logan, with her heart in her eyes, he knew even if she didn't that she was falling for the young man.

"Are you okay?" Veronica asked as she sat on the table in front of Logan. "Stupid question," she mumbled when he just stared at her.

"My Mom is gone," Logan said softly.

"Logan," Veronica whispered. She looked down at her hands and wished she could help him in some way. But there wasn't anything she could say. I'm sorry wasn't good enough because of course she was sorry. That's too bad would earn her a bitch slap. It's not fair was just lame. There wasn't a single thing she could say.

"Hey, I'm, uh, looking for Keith Mars," somebody said from behind them.

"Yeah, sure, in here. Dad?" Veronica called but he was already walking gingerly towards Bone with his hand out. Soon they were both in Keith's office with the door shut.

"You know who that is?" Wallace asked the both of them sitting down beside them, forgetting the moment Logan and Veronica had been in.

"Should I know who that is?" Veronica asked confused.

"If you're serious about your cred with the urban demographic," Wallace said staring at her like she was retarded.

"I am absolutely serious about my cred with the urban demo," Veronica said smiling at Logan who was just staring at the two of them as they exchanged clever quips.

"Drive-By Records, reported to have held a man out of a window in order to get him to sign a contract," Wallace explained. Veronica and Logan still stared at him clueless. "Twice jailed and emerged stronger each time. The gangster rap impresario beside whom all gangster rap impresarios measure themselves. That's Bone Hamilton."

Logan and Veronica share a look. They may not know who Bone Hamilton is but they knew who Bone Hamilton's daughter was.

"Hamilton? God, that's Yolanda Hamilton's dad?" Veronica said staring into Logan's eyes.

"I didn't know you knew her," Wallace said surprised.

"We used to be friends...a long time ago," Veronica said softly as Logan slowly broke eye contact and stood up so he could leave the office. She closed her eyes and couldn't help but wish that Bone Hamilton could have shown up at a much later time. Like hours from then.

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Veronica sat at the lunch table listening as Gabrielle went on telling her fabricated story, we both know she was lying. The great thing about an ex-cop for a dad is that some boring Sunday when you've seen all the reruns, he might kill time describing, for instance, how to tell if someone's lying in an interrogation. Take Yolanda's friend Gabrielle here: the indirect eye contact, the smile that doesn't crinkle the eyes.

"So sh-she still isn't back, huh?" Gabrielle asked stuttering slightly.

"She's missing. She's in danger. Quit lying and tell me what really happened," Veronica said rolling her eyes.

"We'd been sneaking out to this club in LA, Blender. The bouncer Marcel used to work for her dad. I've been seeing this guy. He's older. My parents would disown me if they knew," Gabrielle finally confessed and Veronica knew she was finally hearing the truth.

"How long did you stay at the club?" Veronica asked .

"When Jamie and I left it was probably around midnight. Yolanda was still there. But she had her car," Gabrielle said shrugging her shoulders.

"Thanks. I hope she's okay," Veronica said standing up.

"You think I don't? She's my friend. Who are you?" Gabrielle said getting her things together before she stormed off.

"Way to go Veronica," she mumbled to herself standing up.

"Talking to yourself," Logan said from behind her.

Veronica whipped around and stood there staring at him. She noted the bloodshot eyes and the unkempt hair do. It wasn't exactly the Logan Echoll's everybody knew and liked-er-tolerated. "Should you be here?" she finally asked the question they both already knew the answer to.

"Probably not," Logan said staring at her. "But it's better than being at home watching your father pretend to be the grieving husband."

"Maybe he really is grieving," Veronica offered but she also rolled her eyes. Aaron Echoll's was only concerned with himself. Lynn had been a prop, something to wear on the end of his arm, that was all. Now he would garner even more sympathy from the American public with a wife who had taken her own life.

"No," Logan said shaking his head. "He's already planning his media tour to publicly say goodbye to his darling wife." He sighed before continuing. "So you are on the case huh?"

"She was a friend," Veronica said softly.

"A friend that broke Lilly and I up," Logan said through clenched teeth. Whenever he thought of Yolanda Hamilton he wanted to punch something or somebody.

"It takes two people to kiss Logan," Veronica said glaring at him.

"I still don't know why you had to tell her Ronnie," Logan said glaring at her. "What did it matter to you? I was drunk, she was drunk. It was a mistake."

"I had to tell her because…it was the right thing to do," Veronica said honestly. "Lilly was my best friend. When I saw you cheating on her…I had to tell her."

"Yeah well," Logan said turning to walk away. "Just think of how things might be different if you'd kept your mouth shut." Veronica watched as he strode away. Everybody was staring at her and the whispers were already starting. The joys of being the school leper.

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"Logan. I have a pretty good idea what's going through your head," Aaron said as they reached the front doors of their estate. Logan looks at his father for a moment before turning to concentrate on his tie. "I know you blame me for your mother's death. That's okay. Our marriage had some very high highs and some…very low lows. And I know that this hard act you're putting on is just your way of coping. But let's make a deal, all right? From now on, we're going to be a team. Our war's over now, Logan." When Logan didn't say anything he added softly, "It's what she would have wanted."

Logan just stared at his father impassively. He very deliberately dons his sunglasses then gives a peace sign. Aaron just nods his head briefly before opening the door. He followed his son out the door. He hears the camera before his eyes find the culprit hiding behind a rock. He chases the photographer down yelling, "Logan!"

"Picture, man, huh?" Logan asked as he grabbed the photographer before he could climb over the gate. "Something real? Here's real for you!" He raises the camera and smashes it down hard on the drive.

"Hey, that's a thousand dollar camera!" the photographer yelled. But crawls towards the gate when Logan advances towards him his rage evident on his face.

"Logan! Enough!" Aaron yelled.

"You know what Mom would have wanted!" Logan yelled not caring as all the paparazzi strained closer making sure they didn't miss a word. "She would have wanted you to not sleep with all her friends. She would have wanted you to care as much about her as your career. So okay, Dad, let's be honest. Maybe we both wished we'd been better. But she's only gone because of you." Logan held up both his hands and storms off.

"Who's gonna pay for my camera?" the photographer asked.

"I'll tell you what. I'll get on it just as soon as I've buried my wife," he said before turning to the crowd. "Hey everybody! Enjoying the show, huh?"

Logan stormed back to the pool house. He slammed the door shut behind him as he raised both hands to his head and he screamed. He hated this. He hated that his Mom had chosen to jump off a bridge instead of just leaving her husband like most other pissed off housewives. He hated that Lilly was dead and wasn't here to help him drink himself into a stupor.

But most of all he hated that the one person he'd been able to direct his anger at through the past year was no longer his scapegoat. No, she was now the girl that he couldn't get out of his mind…for very different reasons. Veronica Mars, the first and last time he'd ever imagined kissing her, he'd been 13 and they'd been swimming at the Kane's pool. He'd brought the subject up with Duncan but within the next year they'd both paired off, Logan with Lilly and Duncan with Veronica.

Logan sat down on his bed and tried to sort through his thoughts. He was suppose to be burying his Mother today. But he couldn't even bring himself to leave his room. He didn't want to do anything. He just wanted to rewind the past year and have a do over. Was that too much to ask?

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Logan walked into his bedroom and tried to close the door behind him but somebody pushed it back open. "I want to be alone," he said walking over to his bed where one of his video game controllers sat.

"Logan," Veronica said softly shocking him.

He turned to face her and noticed her non-funeral clothes and nodded his head. "Took a little break from your P.I. bit did you? You find her? Solve the case like a good old Nancy Drew?"

"No," Veronica said walking towards him. "I had to come here and…say I'm sorry. I know how dumb that is and it probably doesn't help at all but I really wish somebody would have said that to me when my Mom left…I know your mom didn't just leave but…I'm sorry okay."

"Did you find Yolanda?" Logan asked.

"No," Veronica said again. "We haven't found her yet. We're following a couple leads though." She looked away before adding, "you don't really care though."

"No," Logan said. "I don't."

"I never told you this," Veronica said surprising even herself when she brought up the one subject she'd sworn never to tell anybody. "But Lilly basically told Yolanda you were free game."

"What?" Logan said.

"We went to Yolanda's house the day before your party and Lilly…she told us she was going to end it with you….your jealousy was an issue," Veronica said looking down at her hands. "Yolanda told her jealousy wasn't an issue with her and Lilly said go for it." Veronica looked straight into Logan's eyes when she finally said, "did Yolanda just go for it?" It was Logan's turn to look down at his hands and the silence was telling enough. "You told everybody it was all Yolanda."

"It wasn't," Logan said quietly. "I was drunk and pissed and…I knew Lilly was going to dump me."

"How'd you-" Veronica said but Logan interrupted her.

"Know?" Logan said finishing her sentence. "I know I'm not the sharpest crayon in the box but I can even tell when somebody's pulling away from me. C'mon, not going to my party, one of the biggest bashes that she talked about all year long? She might as well of put up a flashing neon sign."

"But kissing one of her friends," Veronica said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I wasn't exactly thinking clearly," Logan said sarcastically.

Veronica looked away. "I didn't mean to start this…I wasn't even going to say anything." She turned to leave but she closed her eyes and froze when she realized she had to say one more thing. "I'm sorry that I told Lilly. If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have said anything."

"What?" Logan said standing up surprised. To hear Veronica say that she would have willingly kept something from Lilly, her best friend, was shocking. "But Lilly-"

"Lilly gave her permission," Veronica said softly turning to face him once again. "I never should have said anything. It wasn't any of my business."

"Logan?" Duncan asked knocking on the door as he opened it. "What are you doing?"

"Having a conversation," Logan said. He watched as Veronica froze up before mumbling something as she walked out of the room. He knew why she had to leave, why she wasn't comfortable being in the same room as Duncan, he also knew she had to tell him the truth. It didn't matter if he already knew, he deserved to hear it from her too. Just like if he'd found out the truth a year ago, he should have told Veronica. It was the right thing to do.

"Logan. It's your mom's funeral reception. Maybe we should-" Duncan said deciding to ignore the fact that his ex-girlfriend had been in his best friend's room. Which meant also ignoring the fact that his best friend supposedly hated his ex-girlfriend.

"It is not my mom's reception. It's his. So if you want to eat crab puffs and discuss today's Variety, knock yourself out, man. Thanks for coming, it really means a lot to the family," Logan said before sitting down and picking up the remote control again.

"Logan, I'm your friend, man, and I'm starting to get a little worried," Duncan said staring at him.

"And now I'm dead," Logan said throwing the controller. "None of this matters, man, don't worry."

"What are you talking about?" Duncan asked confused.

"You know Mom's dad fought in the Korean War?" Logan said confusing Duncan even more. "Uh. Well he got this lighter in Seoul. He held onto it even when he was captured. He and his buddies escaped and he had it engraved." He threw the lighter to Duncan who caught it and read the engraving 'Free At Last'. "And it was always in her purse. But she left it on her dresser the night she disappeared. It's a sign." When Duncan just continued to stare at him he shook his head. "You know, man, come on, I mean, she hated all this, she hated him."

"Logan," Duncan said even more worried about his best friend.

"They didn't find a body because she's not dead," Logan insisted. He looked down at the lighter he recovered from Duncan and held it up. "She just escaped."

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Veronica sat down in front of her laptop and waited patiently for Yolanda to sit down in front of hers. She had a couple things she needed to say. It probably didn't matter to Yolanda but the new Veronica had to apologize. She still couldn't believe that the entire time they'd been worried sick about her, she'd been off in Vegas getting married. It still seemed surreal that the whole kidnapping plot was a fake.

"Veronica, is that you?" Yolanda asked finally.

"I just wanted to say congratulations on the marriage and I'm sorry. I should have been a better friend," Veronica said softly.

"Veronica, if I had been in your position, I would have done the same thing," Yolanda said letting her off the hook.

"But it doesn't make it right," Veronica pointed out. "Last year I was desperate to fit in. I liked being Lilly's friend…I liked having friends."

"Don't sweat it Veronica," Yolanda said smiling at her through the webcam. "What you saw was damaging and Lilly was your best friend. You did what you had to do."

"I'm still sorry," Veronica said again.

"Apology accepted," Yolanda said. "And I'm sorry for kissing your best friend's boyfriend."

"Apology accepted," Veronica said laughing. She said her goodbyes and turned off her computer. She turned to get ready for bed when she heard somebody banging on the front door. She slowly walked to the door and peered out from the window but opened the door when she saw Logan standing there.

"Logan, what are you doing here?" Veronica asked but for some reason she really dreaded the answer.

"I want you to find my mother," Logan said.


	11. Chapter 11

**Wow, another update and you didn't have to wait a couple months. Am I on a roll or what? Lets just pray I keep going. I am really hooked to the story right now so I'm typing every spare chance I get. I was so happy to see people still reading my story. I write faster when I get reviews like the ones I got for the last chapter. They inspire me. So I hope you like this chapter just as much. Let me know what you think.**

Veronica took a deep breath before stepping back so Logan could enter the apartment, his arms were wrapped around his body like if he held on he could keep all the hurt and anger concealed.

"Veronica, she's not dead," Logan said before she could say anything.

"What makes you think she's still alive?" Veronica asked holding up a hand before he could say anything. "I mean, do you have proof, something that shows she didn't…jump off the bridge."

Logan went on to explain the lighter and what it meant. He couldn't tell by staring into her eyes what she was thinking. For a moment he wished he was talking to the old Veronica because he'd been able to read everything she was thinking before she said anything. But he vetoed the idea just as quickly, the old Veronica wouldn't have been any help with locating his Mom. No, only the new Ronnie would be able to find her…if she was able to be found.

"Okay," Veronica said nodding her head like she just accepted what he was saying. "I believe you. But I have only two more questions, what about the woman who saw her jump? It's been on every channel."

"Don't tell me you believe everything everybody tells you on TV," Logan said shaking his head at her. "God Veronica, her credit cards were missing. Doesn't that just seem…I don't know, a clue? You don't jump off a bridge with your platinum card."

"Not usually no," Veronica admitted. She couldn't help but feel a little hope in the pit of her stomach. She really hoped Logan was right and his mother had staged her death and was going to come back for him…or something. The only problem she had with the idea was it was so far-fetched. It was something you'd see or read about on TV or in a book.

"I know my mother!" Logan insisted.

"I know you do," Veronica agreed. If there was one thing she didn't doubt it was Logan knowing his Mother. He loved and adored Lynn Echolls. God even she adored Logan's Mother. Out of the fearsome foursome's Mothers, Lynn Echoll's had been the one with the biggest heart. She'd honestly loved Logan unconditionally.

"I may not have been the best son," Logan said softly surprising Logan.

"It didn't matter," Veronica said walking towards him. "Lynn loved you Logan. If this is some elaborate plot to get away from your Dad then I'll find out. I promise you." She took his hand in hers as she lead him over to the couch so they both could take a seat. She did have one more question for him. "I heard she left a note."

"Well, yeah, she wants people to think she's dead. But if she was going to really do the deed, it'd be chardonnay and sleeping pills," Logan said smiling but Veronica could tell he wasn't finding anything about the topic funny. "You know, she wouldn't risk being found bug-eyed and bloated in some shrimp net."

"I'll see what I can find out," Veronica said rubbing the back of his hand.

"Did you mean what you said?" Logan asked changing the subject.

"I said a lot of things earlier," Veronica said smiling at him. "Care to be more specific?"

"That you're sorry you told Lilly," Logan said watching as she pulled her hand away and she put another foot between them. He hated that bringing up Lilly always caused Veronica to pull away. He wished…he just wished that they could talk about Lilly and have it be okay that they were touching. Maybe even more than just touching.

"Yeah I did," Veronica said honestly. She looked down at her hands as she explained. "I'm not proud of the girl I used to be." She stood up and paced away. "I was such an idiot back then. Blindly following Lilly and the rest of her posse like what they said or did was golden. I always thought that I had a moral code but looking back, I only had whatever Lilly approved of. It doesn't sit well with me now…who I used to be."

"Oh I don't know," Logan said leaning back, making himself comfortable. "I liked the old Veronica." When Veronica turned to look at him he smiled at her. "You had a fire in you but you never let Lilly see it. I liked that about you. That you could stand up for yourself and do something different but you respected Lilly enough to just keep the peace."

"It wasn't respect Logan," Veronica said shaking her head at him. "I was terrified of not being liked. The only reason people had anything to do with me was the three of you. Do you have any idea what they used to say behind my back? I'll give you a clue, it's pretty close to what they say now."

"They wouldn't have dared," Logan rejected the idea.

"Oh they were sure never to say it when you were around but you guys skipped school a lot more than I ever did," Veronica pointed out. "I was your charity case you know. I was the girl way out of bounds by going after the Duncan Kane. Oh and for Logan Echoll's to be putting up with me…I must be real good in the sack." She stared at him and she could see the truth dawning in his eyes. "That's just a small taste Logan."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Logan asked standing up. He'd gone from calm and relaxed for the first time in days to completely pissed off. He wanted to punch something. Preferably anybody who'd said any of that to Veronica.

"I knew the truth," Veronica said seriously. But then she had to be honest with herself. "Or I thought I did." She walked into the kitchen so she could grab a soda or some water. She needed something to do with her hands. "I gotta tell ya though. After Duncan refused to have anything to do with me I had my doubts. Then Lilly died and I was even more suspicious. Then you ripped me a new one in the hallway." She filled a glass with water as she stared into the sink looking at nothing. "I didn't know what to think anymore. But the new rumors started again only this time you were at the helm."

"Veronica we had no idea," Logan said speaking for himself, Lilly and Duncan.

"I know you didn't," Veronica said turning around. "I didn't tell you all that just to make you feel bad. You had nothing to do with their antagonism towards me back then."

"But I have everything to do with their antagonism towards you now," Logan pointed out.

"True," Veronica said. She wasn't going to be easy on him. They may have formed a truce lately but she wasn't ready to let go of everything he'd done quite yet. He had a lot to make up for.

"For what it's worth I would have kicked all their asses back then," Logan said walking towards the door. He had to get out of there. He couldn't deal with his Mother's suicide or disappearance, whatever the hell it was and see that far off look of pain in Veronica's eyes. "

"Logan!" Veronica called standing at the balcony as he reached his car. "I'll find out what really happened."

"I know you will," Logan said pausing as he opened the driver's side door.

Veronica turned and headed back into the apartment straight towards her laptop on her bed. The first thing you do in

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Veronica climbed out of her car her mind trying to figure out what else she could do for Logan. She'd already put a watch on all Lynn's credit cards and checked for flights with every airline.

"Hey Veronica," somebody said.

Veronica nodded her head without even looking to see who it was. She headed towards her locker but froze when she didn't get the usual snubs from Shelley Pomroy and Madison St. Claire.

"Hey Veronica," Madison said smiling fakely at her. Shelley just smiled at her as they walked past.

"Okay," Veronica mumbled to herself. She had finally reached her locker and was opening it as Dick and Beaver walked by. She braced herself waiting for the usual insult but stared open mouth as he nodded at her while walking by.

"Hey Supafly," Wallace said leaning against the locker next to hers. "Remember when I told you back on our second lunch together that you should hear what people say about you."

"Yeah," Veronica said staring at him.

"Well, I hate to repeat myself but you should hear what people are saying about you," Wallace said shaking his head.

"What now?" Veronica asked trying to figure out if she'd done anything lately to piss off anybody…well anything more than the usual.

"Actually," Wallace said drawing the suspense out.

"What?" Veronica asked impatiently.

"You are no longer suppose to be messed with," Wallace said staring at her watching for her reaction. He wasn't let down.

"What!" Veronica said loudly. She closed her locker and turned so she was looking out at her fellow students. Nobody was staring at her or whispering. Who knew that it would be more discerning to have her classmates be respectful than rude?

"Yeah, it seems Logan Echoll's started spreading the word that anybody who says anything that you consider to be rude and out of line, they will find out what it's like to be on Logan's bad side," Wallace explained noticing the rising flush in Veronica's face. "So…am I missing something here? I knew you were talking again but are you and Logan…together?"

"We're just friends," Veronica said heading down the hallway. She didn't want to have this conversation right now. She was too busy trying to get used to everybody being nice to her. She really wished they were still whispering behind her back. It was so much easier to deal with.

"If you say so," Wallace said not buying it for a moment.

"This is too weird," Veronica muttered as another 09er smiled at her and asked how she was doing. They'd never treated her like this…not even when she'd been friends with Duncan, Logan and Lilly. She saw Logan standing at his locker down the hallway and made a bee-line straight for him. She grabbed his arm and drug him into the bathroom hanging the out of order sign before turning to face him. "What did you do?"

"Fixing things," Logan said jumping up so he was sitting on the bathroom counter.

"How is this fixing things?" Veronica asked confused.

"Now nobody dares say anything bad about you," Logan explained.

"I don't care if they say something bad to me," Veronica said crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you think I told you…about last year because I wanted you to fix it?"

"Uh, yeah," Logan said it was his turn to be confused. How could he not try to fix it…it was his fault they were treating her like she was a bug that needed constant swatting.

"Logan," Veronica said walking over so she could sit by him. "I didn't tell you because I wanted things to change. I actually like having people not like me."

"But you said…" Logan started to say but he trailed off when she smiled up at him. He really loved her smile. She didn't give it to him anymore, very rarely. He always got the snarky bitchy smile but today she graced him with the true Veronica Mars smile.

"A year ago I needed people to like me," Veronica explained. "This year, I don't care that people don't like me. I don't care that there are new rumors spread about me weekly. I really don't care that the popular 09er bitches hate me. Life is so much easier when I don't have to worry about what to wear and what to say. It's so much easier being an outsider," she admitted still smiling at him.

She would never admit it out loud but she thought it was one of the sweetest things he could have done for her. Nobody ever tried to go out of their way to make things easier for her, except her father. Wallace had to be coaxed and pleaded with half the time, she hadn't been able to knock that out of him yet. But Logan had taken it upon himself to try and make it better, even if it had backfired.

"I wouldn't know what being an outsider feels like," Logan said nudging her shoulder with his.

"Yeah, being Aaron Echoll's son kinda negates being an outsider," Veronica agreed but then she got this look in her eyes that instantly put him on his toes. "Unless…"

"Unless what," Logan said slowly staring at her.

"You could turn Goth," Veronica said giggling when Logan's mouth fell open in shock.

"Yeah, like that's going to happen," Logan said jumping off the counter.

"It could work," Veronica insisted.

"Knowing this school everybody would just go to school Goth the next day," Logan pointed out.

"Yeah you're right," Veronica said shaking her head. "Guess you'll never live the life of an outsider."

"Too bad," Logan said staring at her. The first thought to jump in his head after what Veronica had said was 'what would it be like to date one?' But he immediately threw it out of his head. It was too weird and he needed to think about it later when he was alone.

"Yeah," Veronica said jumping down. She smiled at him before heading towards the door.

"Is there any news?" Logan asked before she could open the door. "About my Mom, I mean."

"I…uh…put notices on your mom's credit cards and on her ATM card," Veronica said.

**"**Meaning what exactly?" Logan asked.

"Meaning a friend of my father's who works at your family bank will text message me if any of the cards are used. And you know that eyewitness that's been clogging up the airwaves?" Veronica asked already knowing the answer.

"Yeah. Opportunistic hag," Logan said coldly.

"That's the one," Veronica had to agree. "Well, she's giving a statement at the sheriff's department tomorrow. I'll drop by; see if she's up for a chat."

"Well, I'll go with you," Logan suggested.

"Actually, despite popular opinion, you really can't beat the truth out of someone," Veronica said opening the bathroom door so she could take down the sign. She knew Logan was following her and wished the bell would ring already so she could use the excuse, 'I have to get to class.'

"Listen, I'm going," Logan not even making it a suggestion this time.

"You're not," Veronica said seriously.

"Kay, what are you going to stop me with?" Logan finally asked when he realized she was actually serious.

"Force of will, strength of character, tenacity, karate chop…" Veronica said her voice trailing off.

"I will know if she's lying, okay. You won't," Logan said stopping her with a hand on her arm.

"Fine. I've got a plan," Veronica said resigned to the fact he'd go whether she agreed to it or not. At least this way she could keep an eye on him.

"Yeah, I'm sure you do," Logan said laughing harshly before walking away.

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Veronica sat next to Logan later outside the Sheriffs office. She'd been planning on leaving him behind by leaving the school early but he must have anticipated that move because he'd been waiting on the hood of her car.

"So you make a nice hood ornament," Veronica commented getting comfortable on the wooden bench.

"You were at the car a little early," Logan said leaning forward putting his elbows on his knees. "Weren't trying to leave me behind were you?"

"Nah, you kidding me," Veronica lied. She watched as a woman exited one of the offices. "That's her." She watched as the woman headed towards where they were sitting. Logan moves to stand up but Veronica places her hand on his arm to stop him. "Down, boy. Relax, I've got it covered."

Logan watches as Veronica speaks softly into her sleeve. "White trash walking." He snorts as he chuckles but covers his mouth with his hand. Veronica smiled as she hands him an earpiece as the woman passed them. "I know, gadgets and all."

They both listen in as Cliff stops her from passing. Logan tensed up but as soon as the woman made it obvious she was lying he flew off the bench.

"So, what?! You couldn't get on "Springer" this week, so you make lies up about my mom?" he yelled at the woman.

"Logan…" Veronica said softly putting herself between them.

"You know, I am sure the trailer payments must be high. And what with the high price of spam these days…" he continued like Veronica hadn't said anything. When the woman leaves he tried to follow but Veronica held onto his arm. He tries to throw it off but Veronica won't let him.

"I'm sorry Logan," Veronica said as she pulled him away. She lead him out to her car and watched as he climbed in the passenger side without saying a word. She sighed as she got in the driver's side and started the car. She put it into drive but Logan threw open his door and stormed from the car. She watched as he walked off down the sidewalk but decided against following him. She had a phone call to make.

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Veronica stared at the phone as she recited the phone number to memory. After talking to Duncan earlier to get his doctor's name she'd taken a momentary break to throw up in the bathroom one more time. She really needed to deal with the fact that she'd kissed her brother and move on. She was going to see him every day at school…it wasn't going to get any easier.

Veronica held the phone up to her ear as it rang and she took a deep breath as the receptionist answered. "Hi, this is Veronica Mars. I was wondering if I could get in to see the doctor sometime this week. End of the day would be best. I have band practice after school. Five is great. Thanks."

"What do you need to see a doctor for?" Logan asked as he threw a tabloid on her desk.

"I have my reasons," Veronica said quickly. She sat down in her chair behind her desk and stared up at him. "Can't say I was expecting you."

"Yeah about that," Logan said pacing away. "I just needed to get away. To try and deal I guess you could say but while I was dealing I found this. There's a woman who saw my mom get out of her car and get in a van with a mysterious stranger." Logan had used air quotes when he said mysterious stranger.

"There's also a jungle tribe that worships Donald Trump's hair. It's a tabloid," Veronica pointed out.

"What, so the girl with the pig arm can't really bowl?" Logan said smiling.

"I just don't want you to get your hopes up," Veronica said hesitantly.

"Don't worry about my hopes Veronica," Logan said honestly. "Just find my Mother." He walked back over to the desk and pointed down at the tabloid. "The woman said my mom was laughing and having fun. Go do your Nancy Drew thing and find out if it's true."

"Sondra Bolan of Sunset Springs. How am I going to find her?" Veronica asked but then she picked up the phone. "In Sunset Springs. Sondra Bolan. Hi, Sondra, this is Veronica of "The National Instigator." I had a few follow-up questions on your Lynn Echolls story. Actually, in person is a lot better. No, Tuesday night's no good, newspaper work night."

"What are you doing?" Logan asked leaning forward on the desk.

"Any chance you're available right now?" Veronica asked staring right into Logan's eyes. She hung up the phone. "We have a date."

Logan followed Veronica into the coffee bar ten minutes later. He still couldn't believe Veronica had turned into such a good detective. He never would have believed it if he hadn't been witnessing it for the past couple weeks. She was really good at it.

Veronica took her seat and waited impatiently for Sondra to arrive. She just wanted to get this over with. She had this sense of foreboding and she knew it wasn't going to end well. After Sondra arrived and started talking Veronica listened but kept one eye on Logan who was sitting directly behind her. She knew the moment Logan realized it was another dead end.

Logan stood up and smiled sadly at the woman. She was no witness, just some deluded fan seeking her fifteen minutes of fame. He looked at Veronica before turning and striding from the coffee bar.

"Excuse me," Veronica said before chasing after Logan but she was too late. She watched him run into Weevil and make a sarcastic comment before leaving.

"Hey! Manners, Opie!" Weevil yelled. He turned to Veronica and asked, "What, did he lose a puka shell?"

"No. Just the last ounce of hope that his mother was still alive," Veronica said sharing a concerned look with Weevil.

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Veronica waited in the doorway of the classroom the next day. She didn't know what this freshman had to show them but if Weevil thought it deserved looking at then she had to trust it. She saw Logan walking towards her and she gave him a half-hearted tense smile.

"Hey. You paged?" Logan said stopping in front of her.

Veronica leads the way into the classroom where Weevil is already waiting along with Hart the freshman. "It seems Hart here has something to show us. Spill."

"Me and my friends were filming out by the bay. We were making this war movie, "Storm on the Beach." It's just on high def, but it's pretty cool. It's these two brothers who get sent to war and-" Hart said getting excited he could finally explain it to somebody other than his friends and family.

"Don't care. Point," Veronica said interrupting him.

"We were editing it together, and we noticed something," Hart said putting a disk into the computer. They all watched the video but nobody noticed anything except Hart. _"_Did you see it?"

"Yeah, it sucks, and?" Logan said sarcastically. He was already bored but if Veronica thought this guy might have something to offer than he had to stay.

"Rewind it. Play it frame by frame," Veronica ordered.

"There! Check out the right side of the bridge," Hart said pointing at what appears to be a body falling from the bridge in the background of the movie.

"Holy…" Weevil said but cut himself off as he looked at Logan who was just staring at the computer. He couldn't even hide the shock that was written all over his face. Veronica just shut her eyes.

"The video's time stamped 4:37 pm. Exactly the time when…" Hart said but stopped as he looked at Logan. "…she supposedly jumped."

"This footage better never make it out into public consumption," Veronica warned but she was already looking at Logan worried to see how he'd take this.

"Don't worry about my boy, Hart," Weevil said deciding to clear the room. He drug the freshman out giving V a little privacy with Logan. He didn't like the kid and he wasn't sure he liked Veronica getting so close to him but she was helping him with a case. And Veronica could handle herself.

"I'm sorry," Veronica said softly once they were the only two in the room.

"Yeah, so am I," Logan said before turning to leave the room.

Veronica dropped her head but pulled her cell phone out of her bag as it begins to ring. She had to read what it said three times before she understood. She took off running out of the classroom calling Logan's name.

"Logan! Logan," she said as she caught up to him. "Your mom's missing credit card was just used." She watches as the look of horror disappeared from his face to be replaced with hope once again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everybody! Another update, way to go me! I really hope you like this one. It's back to being a long one so I hope you don't mind. It went a bit differently than I planned but I have to say, I like the ending. I changed a lot of things but kept a few things the same. Thank you for all the reviews for the last chatper. I loved reading every one of them. Please let me know what you think. I really really would appreciate it. **

"Your mom had fourteen credit cards in her name at the time of her disappearance," Veronica said the next day as she looked at a piece of paper she'd printed from her computer just that morning. She handed the paper over to Logan as she continued. "This is the only one that's been active. No-limit platinum card."

"Be my mom's weapon of choice," Logan joked but he couldn't help but feel a spark of hope. It had been his Mother's favorite credit card. The one she never went anywhere without.

"This is also the only one that is still registered under her maiden name, Lester. Maybe it's just a coincidence," Veronica explained.

"Or maybe she's trying to hide, huh?" Logan said sighing when Veronica nods her head like she agreed with him. He stared into her eyes as he handed the credit card record back to her.

"It's hard to know for sure," Veronica said looking down at another page. "There's only been one purchase so far, a rental car." Logan leans over so he can see what she's looking at. "There was no surveillance tape from the point of sale but I ordered a copy of the card holder's signature. It might take a couple of weeks."

"What kind of car?" Logan asked urgently.

"Benz. Red…convertible," Veronica said watching as Logan accepts the information by staring off into the distance. She doesn't know what else to say to him. This was just giving him hope and she really wanted it to work out for him. She wanted Lynn to be alive too. "I-I'll let you know if she strikes again."

"Yeah," Logan said lost in his own thoughts. He barely noticed as Veronica stood up and grabbed her shoulder bag as she headed into the school. He finally stood up and hurried after her. "Hey, Veronica, uh… Thanks for helping out with this."

"I know what it's like," Veronica said smiling softly at him. "I may have heard from my Mom but it doesn't help when you don't know where she is."

"You'll find her," Logan said having complete faith in her abilities. If there was one thing he'd learned in the short weeks he'd been hanging out with her again, it was how good she was at solving cases.

Veronica turned to head into her first class of the day but stopped in the doorway when she saw the sign for the dance that was coming up. Duncan was standing there watching somebody decorate it while holding a clipboard.

"Don't be stingy with the glitter. Remember. It's an eighties dance," he said marking something off on the clipboard.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd swear I just saw my best friend…" Duncan said when he noticed Veronica entering the classroom. " …ask you…to "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

"No, no one's asked. But I'm pining away by the phone waiting for that special boy to call," Veronica said smiling when he grinned at her.

"You never know," Duncan said before turning back to deal with somebody else.

Veronica stared at the sign for another moment as she remembered another school dance. She'd thought her heart had been totally eclipsed then but looking back, she had to wonder if she'd just been fooling herself. She looked away from the sign and saw a couple people staring at her along with Duncan and she turned to leave the classroom. She didn't know how much time had passed but standing in the middle of a classroom staring at an overly glittered sign in a classroom fool of 09ers was a surefire way to be made fun of.

She didn't hear Logan call her name from his locker or see Wallace wave at her from the attendance office. She was too busy making a bee-line for the bathroom or 'her office' as people liked to call it.

"Veronica!" Logan called again when she didn't even turn to see who was calling her name. He turned to look at the classroom she'd run out of and shut his locker as he walked towards it. Somebody in there had done or said something to run her off.

He paused when he saw Duncan standing in the middle of the classroom issuing orders as everybody surrounding him decorated something for the stupid 80's dance the school was throwing. He'd probably found the reason for Veronica's quick flight from her first period but he made his way towards his best friend wanting to know what was said.

"Hey Duncan," Logan said waiting until Duncan finished his conversation with Madison Sinclair ((thanks for everybody who corrected me.)). "Did you say something to Veronica?"

"I just teased her about the dance," Duncan said shrugging his shoulders. He looked down at the clipboard before staring into Logan's eyes. "Actually, I told her it looked like my best friend was asking her to the school dance."

"What!?" Logan exclaimed but he was surprised at how much he wished he had been asking her to the school dance instead of talking about his Mom. He hadn't really attended any of the school dances in the past year. They all seemed to boring without Lily but he had a feeling if he went with Veronica he'd have a good time.

"Are you…" Duncan started to ask but he shook his head and turned away before he finished.

"Are you what?" Logan asked dreading the question. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like the question.

"Are you friends with Veronica again?" Duncan asked slowly. He'd been going to ask something else but had changed his mind. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer of the other question.

"Yes," Logan said deciding that honesty was the best policy in this case. Duncan had been preaching at him all year about giving Veronica a break and just when he quits, Logan befriends her again. "She's helping me with something."

"Your Mom," Duncan said after he thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah, she believes me," Logan said smiling at the thought. It gave him a nice feeling to know that Veronica took his word on something. He didn't know when it started mattering to him, Veronica believing him, but it meant a lot.

"It's not that I don't believe you," Duncan started to say but his voice trailed off when he saw the look in Logan's eyes. He wasn't even listening to what he was saying anymore. He had the same look in his eyes Duncan use to get when he was thinking about Veronica. Maybe he should have asked the other question.

"Look man I gotta go," Logan said when the bell rang. He was going to be late for his first period, not that he really cared. He passed the girl's bathroom, noting the out of order sign still on the outside. He wanted to go in there and ask if she was okay but decided against it. Veronica would contact him when she knew more on his Mother's case. Then he could ask her about Duncan and what had sent her running.

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Veronica smiled as she saw Meg standing at her locker the next day. She'd asked her to find her so-called secret admirer yesterday and so far she'd drawn a blank. She didn't really have anything to go on except that test message but she needed more.

"Secret admirer strikes again," Veronica commented spying the flowers on Meg's locker. She hated that she felt a little jealousy towards Meg for having a secret admirer. She didn't really want a boyfriend…so okay that was a lie. What teenage girl didn't want a boyfriend? But she didn't really want a secret admirer. She just wanted…a guy to call her own. Not one who turned out to be drug dealer or just a mutual flirtation with a deputy.

She turned to look down the hallway and saw Logan standing with Duncan, Dick and a couple other 09ers. She wanted what she had with Duncan but her eyes strayed to Logan who was staring right at her. She looked away quickly when she heard Meg saying something. "What?" she said tuning back in.

"He wants to go to the dance," Meg said again but she turned to look down the hall and saw Logan look away quickly. She turned to look at Veronica with a speculative glance. "So I saw you talking to Logan yesterday…and the day before that."

"I'm helping him with a case," Veronica said digging around the flowers until she pulled out the card that always accompanied store bought flowers. "Manny's Flower Hut." The name didn't ring a bell with her but she looked at Meg wandering if it meant anything to her.

"Interesting thing Veronica," Meg said falling into step beside her. "I saw you talking to Logan weeks ago."

"We're…I guess you could say…" Veronica said trying to spit the word out.

"Friends," Meg said shocked when Veronica's face flushed. "No way, are you guys like seeing each other…secretly?"

"No no no," Veronica denied shaking her head. "We are just friends."

"If you say so," Meg said looking at Logan as they passed. She noticed his eyes never strayed from Veronica who was pretending to be concerned with all the fliers on the bulletin board on the other side of the hall way. "But his eyes haven't left you since you entered the hallway."

Veronica opened her mouth but her cell phone started ringing and she smiled apologetically at Meg. She pulled it out as she hurried down the hall so she could get some privacy.

"Saved by the phone Veronica!" Meg called smiling after her friend.

Veronica was rolling her eyes as she read the email on her phone. She opened up a new message as she texted Logan. She wasn't going back down that hallway and interrupting this time with his friends. He may have made all his cronies quit the destroy Veronica's reputation club but that didn't mean they still weren't saying things. She didn't need to give them any more ammunition.

**Hey, another charge on credit card. Meet me at Sunset Regent.**

Veronica walked into the Sunset Regent over an hour later carrying a scrapbook that just looking at made her cringe. She'd found it in her Mother's stuff, the few boxes her Dad hadn't gotten rid of when they'd had to downsize from a 2000 sq. ft. home to a 950 sq. ft apartment. She saw Logan pacing in the lobby checking his watch ever few seconds. She hurried towards him smiling.

"I know I'm late. Sorry, honey," Veronica said loudly. She stretched up and kissed his cheek quickly shocking Logan. He watched as she pulled back slowly staring at him for a moment as if she hadn't planned it either. "So I talked to this guy on the phone. Let me handle it, he's a bit prickly," she said still effected by the peck.

"May I help you?" the receptionist said staring at them with disdain.

"You may. My fiancé and I are looking for a honeymoon suite," Veronica said jumping slightly when she felt Logan put his arm around her shoulders. She knew he was just trying to add weight to their story but it felt nice all the same.

"Oh, how wonderful," the receptionist said smiling all fake at them. He brings out some pictures. "These are our more affordable packages. The rooms run $350 for a courtyard and $450 for poolside. On the weekends of course, it's a two night minimum."

"Of course. Here's a little bit more what I had in mind," Veronica said putting her Mom's old wedding album on the counter. Both the receptionist and Logan's eyes were immediately drawn to the huge, sparkling engagement ring on her finger. " …just…"

"Wow, sugar puss, you've certainly been a busy little bee," Logan said slightly appalled but more impressed than anything. It was one hell of a book. She couldn't have just made it so either she'd had one already or borrowed it. He looked down at her and smiled, she'd borrowed it. Veronica looks up at him and they both chuckle. "Ah, she's a keeper."

"Um, these are our luxury suites," the receptionist says after spotting the ring. He pulls out the file with more pictures of better suites and hands it to Veronica. She flicks through it quickly already knowing what she was looking for.

"Ooh. Nope. No. Uh, yech," she said but paused on a page. "Well, how much is this one?"

"Ah, yes. Our Princess Suite. Twelve hundred a night. It has a hot tub, 360 degree view and, um, private elevator access," he went on describing one of the most over priced rooms they offered.

"Ah, yummy…" Veronica said looking at Logan.

"Yeah," Logan said distractedly. He couldn't help but wonder if his Mom was up in this room hiding away from the world.

"Let's take a look, hon," Veronica said squeezing his arm trying to draw him back into the present.

"I apologize but the suite's currently occupied," the receptionist said.

"Like literally occupied, because we could just poke our heads in," Veronica said trying to wheedle their way in.

"Um. I'm sorry but our guest has insisted on her privacy," he said again.

"Could we maybe just call up to the room?" Logan asked convinced they'd found his Mother.

"Oh, I'm afraid that's not possible. I-I assure you we will afford you the same privacy, should you choose to stay with us," he said.

"Hmm," Veronica said admitted defeat. She collected her wedding book and pulled Logan over to one of the plush couches they offered. "All right, stay put. I'm gonna go talk to the maintenance guys."

"No, I think I can handle it from here," Logan said shaking his head. She'd already done so much for him, he didn't want her to waste more time when he could just sit here and wait.

"No, I can get them to unlock the service elevator and we can just-" Veronica said confused.

"Naw, I've got a better idea. I'll just sit right here," Logan said sitting down on the couch in view of the elevators. "Until my mother walks out of that elevator."

"Logan," Veronica said crossing her arms over her chest. She didn't feel comfortable leaving him on a stake out in one of Neptune's better hotels all alone. She didn't want him to be alone if this didn't pan out the way he wanted it too.

"I'm not leaving Veronica," Logan said, his resolve face on. He stared at her until she looked down at her watch. "If you have somewhere to be, then go." He wanted her to say no, she had nowhere to be but he new that wasn't the case. With Veronica, she always had somewhere to be.

"I'll check on you later," she said before pulling out her cell phone. She turned and walked out of the hotel before she changed her mind. She had another friend she had to help out.

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"So the game is afoot," Veronica said walking into the party later that night. She had a strict rule about going to these kind of parties but Meg was one of the only 09ers who was nice to her because she actually liked her. She wanted to do this for her. "Nice house," she commented.

"Oh, you like?" Caz, one of the guys who might be Meg's admirer, said walking up behind them.

"Your folks must be really laid back," Meg said slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh, these aren't actually my parents. This isn't my house. It's one of the model homes in my old man's cheesy new sub-division," Caz explained not noticing the look Veronica and Meg shared. "But would you girls like a drink?"

"Umm, I'm fine," Meg said after Caz escorted them to the heart of the party.

"Yeah, you are super-fine," Caz said looking her up and down. He accompanies this comment with a finger-gun.

"A soda?" Veronica asked hopefully. One that came from an unopened can preferably.

"You know, I think we're fresh out but, um…" Caz said but he pointed to the beer on tap. Meg followed him to the beer while Veronica hung back and watched from the sidelines. She felt bad for Meg because she could only see this ending badly. They were completely wrong for each other. She jumped when somebody touched her shoulder.

"Hey," Duncan said holding a cup of beer in one hand. "Do you know what's going on with Logan?"

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked confused.

"Well, he's camped out in a hotel lobby in LA," Duncan explained staring at her pretty hard.

"How do you know that?" Veronica asked fidgeting under his stare. She was uncomfortable around him now. She knew something that either he did know but didn't want to admit or suspected and didn't want to admit. Either way it was an uncomfortable situation.

"I just talked to him," Duncan said still staring at her.

"He's still there? Uh, I'll take care of it," Veronica said forgetting who she was talking to for a moment.

"If I knew what was going on I could take care of it," Duncan pointed out. When Veronica looked away he grew agitated. "Why are you hanging out with Logan? You two couldn't stand each other a month ago but now every time I see you you're together."

"Duncan," Veronica said calmly. She could see him getting worked up and knew people were starting to look. She smiled at everybody surrounding them but she knew they could hear his every word.

"What is going on Veronica?" Duncan asked stepping even closer to her, invading her personal space.

"I'm helping him-" Veronica started to say but Duncan interrupted her.

"With a case, yeah I know," Duncan said pausing until Veronica looked into his eyes. "But it's more than that…isn't it?"

"I can't do this now," Veronica finally said backing up. She turned to run away but ran into Meg who she latched onto with a sigh of relief.

"There you are. Did you find out anything? I'm totally confused. Okay. Granted, I would look good on Caz's arm but do you have anything available in sensitive or charming," Meg said hopefully.

"I can check in the back," Veronica said distracted. She couldn't get the picture of Logan still sitting on that couch at the Sunset Regent out of her head.

"Good," Meg said looking around uncomfortable. Caz was somewhere and she really didn't want him to talk to him anymore.

"Um-hmm," Veronica said pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. "I'm so sorry Meg, I have to run. Can you find a ride home?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Meg said watching as she ran out of the party.

Veronica dialed Logan's cell and swore when she just got his inspirational quote of the day. She couldn't believe he was still sitting there. It took determination to a whole new level. It took her longer than planned even while speeding to get there but soon she was striding back into the hotel and she saw Logan still sprawled out on the couch.

"I'm sorry. But the lobby's reserved for hotel guests only," a receptionist was saying as she walked over to them.

"So book me a room, Jeeves," Logan said without taking his eyes off the elevators. He whips out a credit card and hands it to him. "Bring me a room service menu while you're at it."

Veronica walked over and sat on the coffee table in front of him. She waits for him to acknowledge her presence but he just stares at the elevator like Lynn would just walk out of them at any moment.

"You know you can't sit here forever," Veronica said shaking her head at him. She looked around before getting up and moving over to the janitor who was getting ready to walk through a door marked 'employees only'. She talked to him for a moment before walking over and pulling Logan up off the couch. "Follow me."

"Where are we going?" Logan asked but he shut up when Veronica thanked the janitor for getting them on the service elevator. Which was the plan she'd mentioned doing earlier.

"We are going to find out who is using Lynn's credit card and hiding in that hotel room," Veronica said staring up at the numbers that showed which floor they were on. Neither said anything though it took them forever because the suite was on one of the top floors. Soon they were standing in front of the door.

"Now what," Logan said noticing the electronic key card slot.

"Oh yee of little faith," Veronica said pulling out the janitors key card. She smiled at him as she slipped it in the slot. They watched as the light turned green and Veronica stepped back letting Logan do the honors.

Logan opened the door slowly but then walked into the room quickly. He looked around calling his Mom's name but there was nobody in the suite. It didn't look like anybody had been in there period. There was no luggage, the bed was still made and the bathroom was still exactly how the maids left it. He turned and faced Veronica and she could see the tears welling in his eyes that he was trying so hard to keep inside.

"She's not here," Logan said sitting down on the bed. He put his head in his hands. He could hear Veronica walking around the suite but he couldn't find the energy to move from that spot. This had been his last hope.

"Logan," Veronica said. Something from her voice made him stand up and walk towards her. She was standing by the phone holding a piece of the hotel's stationary. He slowed down when he saw the look on her face. She handed him the piece of paper with a strange look in her eyes.

"Free at last," Logan read out loud. He stared at the paper for a moment before crumpling it in his hands. "You know, this is what I wanted. A sign that she wasn't dead. That she'd somehow found a way out. But now that I know…I wish I didn't. I wish I believed she was dead." He looked at Veronica for a moment before continuing. "It hurts so much more when they choose to leave…alive, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Veronica admitted remembering how she'd felt when she'd read her Mother's goodbye note.

"I should have listened to you," Logan said before throwing the note in the trash can and running from the hotel suite.

"Logan!" Veronica called chasing after him but he was already gone by the time she reached the hallway. Now that they knew that she was alive, she could continue watching her credit cards and searching the airlines until Lynn let something else slip. And she would, they always did.

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Later that night Veronica sat in her room checking on flights with Lynn's maiden name and her credit cards. She couldn't believe the Lynn Echoll's she knew had pulled off a fake suicide. She stood up when somebody knocked on the door and stared at Meg in surprise when she found her on the other side.

"Hey!" Meg said holding a bag in one hand.

"Meg, I am so sorry," Veronica said feeling bad instantly.

"What for?" Meg asked honestly confused. She walked into Veronica's apartment and set the bag down on the kitchen island.

"I told you I was gonna find your secret admirer before the dance and I haven't come through, I…it's just been a million other things I've been working on…" Veronica said but quit talking when Meg smiled at her.

"Forget it, forget it. I don't even care anymore," Meg said shaking her head. "Oh, here." Meg had been wearing a wrist corsage but she set it down beside the bag on the counter. :You can have it. It's the flowers he sent me. Supposed to be our signal tonight or something."

"Thought you were excited about it," Veronica said confused.

"Truth is, I'm not sure I wanna go out with Caz. And Martin's nice but not…I just don't want to hurt his feelings," Meg said making a face.

"Hmm. How come you're all dolled up," Veronica said staring at Meg in her 80's dress.

"Now who says I need a date to go to the dance," Meg said crossing her arms over her chest as she calked an eye at Veronica.

"Oh. Right. You…go girl," Veronica said smiling at her.

"I'm taking you," Meg said pointing to her. Veronica shook her head but she knew she was going to be roped into going eventually. She owed Meg for not following through on finding her secret admirer. She knew Meg really wanted to know who it was but was just too afraid to admit it.

That's how Veronica found herself walking into the school gym an hour later. Veronica's hair was crimped and she did look like an early Madonna if she did say so herself. She pulls the dress down as they stand on the outside of the dance floor staring at all her fellow classmates doing their interpretation of 80's dancing.

Before Meg could say anything Veronica pulled the corsage out of her clutch purse and put it on Meg's wrist. Meg stared at her wrist for a moment before looking at Veronica in surprise.

"What are you doing?" she asked touching the petals of the flowers with her other hand.

"You put on a good game face but I saw right through it," Veronica said smiling. They both may not know who her secret admirer was but if it was Caz or Martin, at least she wouldn't have to sit out the slow dances.

Meg looked around and made a face at all the outfits. "Wow. Eighties fashion. Grody to the max."

Veronica opened her mouth to comment but it got stuck in her throat. Duncan was walking towards the two of them with a matching corsage on his suit jacket. She closed her mouth and closed her eyes as she finally let go of the old Veronica. It was one thing to know you couldn't be with your first love because, ew, you were related but to see him moving on with one of your good friends…life wasn't fair.

"Look," she finally said pointing in Duncan's direction. She felt Meg freeze and turn to look at her but Veronica just smiled at her. "Go for it. He's a really great guy." She stood for a moment watching as Meg walked towards a smiling Duncan but turned to leave when he pulled Meg out on the dance floor. Veronica had done her good deed for the day, try for the year.

She couldn't even hide the tears that were forming behind her eyes. She barely made it to her car before they started falling. She did the whole cliché thing where she cried for almost ten minutes but soon she started her car and pulled out onto the road. She pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building but found that she couldn't bring herself to go inside. She couldn't walk into her apartment and pretend that everything was alright to her Dad. She needed to be alone, lick her wounds.

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Logan sat in the driver's seat of his Xterra staring at the entrance for Veronica's apartment. He'd been trying to get the courage to go up and see her. He was a little embarrassed at himself for running out on her at the hotel. She'd been there for him. She'd done everything for him and he repaid her by leaving her. He was such a great guy.

He finally climbed out of the car and walked towards the apartment feeling like his feet weighed a hundred pounds each. He didn't know what kind of reception he was going to get. She'd either be sympathetic and understanding or annoyed and a bitch. It could go either way, he knew.

He knocked but froze when Keith Mars answered the door and not Veronica. He stared at her Dad wondering the best way to do this. He hadn't talked to her Dad in over a year. Almost a year and a half now. He didn't know what Veronica told her Dad about him. If she had mentioned everything he'd done to her in the past year, this wasn't going to be a good visit.

"Logan Echoll's, to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence at my humble abode," Keith asked leaning against the doorjamb.

"Is Ver…Veronica here?" he asked proud that he only stuttered once.

"Now what would you want with my daughter?" Keith asked curiously. "As far as I know, you aren't exactly running with the same group of friends anymore, or am I wrong?"

"You're not right," Logan finally said. He ran a hand through his hair as he looked at the ground but took a deep breath before coming clean. "Mr. Mars, I have been a complete jackass to your daughter. Hell, I've been worse then a jackass. So if you want to throw a punch or kick me out that's fine. But can you at least tell Veronica I am here or to call me?"

Keith stared at the young man and wanted to do just that, punch him that is. Veronica may not have told him what exactly had been happening to her at school but he knew enough that Logan had lead the 'lets hurt Veronica' parade. He didn't know if he could forgive him for that but when he looked at him tonight, he saw a little of the old Logan shining through. He'd trusted the old Logan.

"She's not here," Keith said after a long silence had gone by. "She went to the dance."

"Thank you," Logan said before nodding at him. He turned to leave but paused when Keith said something else.

"I'll tell her you stopped by," he said before closing the apartment door.

Logan hurried down the apartment sidewalk towards the sidewalk. The dance was still going on and if he hurried he might be able to find Veronica and thank her for everything. And maybe find out who'd taken her to the dance. Picturing Veronica in somebody else's arms made him clench his fist and imagine punching the unknown guy.

Logan skidded to a halt before he could open the driver's side door of his Xterra. There in the parking lot, four cars down was Veronica's Lebaron. Now either Keith was lying and Veronica was inside or she was somewhere around and he didn't know. From the way Keith had acted, Logan was betting he didn't know Veronica had come home already.

He walked towards her car and felt the hood and smiled when it was still hot. She'd just gotten there, probably while he'd been talking to her Dad. His face fell when he realized she must have seen him at her door and gone and hid. He turned to leave but saw a lone figure walking towards the beach on the other side of the street. He only took a moment to debate whether to follow her or leave her alone. So of course he followed her.

"Veronica," Logan said once he reached her. She was walking aimlessly along the boardwalk staring out at the water. She jumped when he spoke but relaxed just as quickly when she recognized the voice.

"Logan," she said wiping the tears from her face quickly. "How are you?"

"Better than you I'm guessing," Logan said putting his hands in his pockets. He wanted to reach out to her and pull her into his arms for a hug but he wasn't sure of her reaction. He wasn't looking forward to a slap tonight.

"I'm okay," Veronica said smiling at him but she rolled her eyes and groaned. "So that was a lie and not even a good one," she admitted. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and turned towards the shore. "So I rarely get to act like the girl I am and this being one of those times, I understand if you want to walk away." When he just stared at her she went on urgently. "No seriously it's okay. Wallace always leaves."

"I'm not going anywhere Veronica," Logan stated continuing to stare at her.

"I really hate having witnesses when I do this," Veronica said as the tears continued to fall. She couldn't stop them. They were no longer for just watching Duncan woo Meg but for everything. For all the times she didn't cry when she wanted to. It was just her body releasing all the pent up hurt and anger she had.

"That's too bad," Logan said before reaching over and taking one of her hands in his. He led the way onto the beach and sat down pulling her down beside him. He continued holding onto her hand, happy when she didn't even try to pull away. "What happened tonight Veronica?"

"Meg's heart got totally eclipsed by none other than Duncan," Veronica said feeling Logan's stare before she saw it. "He's been her secret admirer for her all week. Buying her flowers, sending her text messages."

"You're not jealous…" Logan said his voice trailing off at the thought. She couldn't be because Duncan was her brother. They could not be anything, she knew that.

"A little," Veronica admitted. She added quickly, "not because Duncan obviously has feelings for Meg. I just…I look around and I'm surrounded by couples. Wallace has Georgia, Meg now has Duncan and I think my Dad is dating somebody too." She laughed at herself. "I miss having somebody for school dances and dates on Saturday night. Do you know what I do on Saturday nights? I take pictures of cheating spouses. Not exactly what dreams are made of."

"I don't have anybody," Logan spoke softly.

"You could have any girl at Neptune High and you know it," Veronica said rolling her eyes. She turned to look at him curiously. "Why aren't you seeing anybody?"

"Haven't found the right girl I guess," Logan said shrugging.

"The right girl," Veronica said smiling at him. "Logan, we're 17. I don't think you're going to find the right girl in high school."

"You never know," Logan said thoughtfully looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "Do you ever think you've met the right person and you just didn't notice right away?"

"I hope not," Veronica said shaking her head. She laughed when Logan stared at her bewildered like. "Logan! My first boyfriend turned out to be my brother and my second was a drug dealer."

"Troy was an ass," Logan muttered wishing he'd punched the guy when he'd first met him. He hadn't liked him from the get go and had hated seeing him with Veronica.

"Well he wasn't Mr. Right that's for sure," Veronica joked. She looked out at the water and sighed. She'd come to the beach wanting to be alone but she was glad Logan had showed up. Being with him felt strangely right and comforting. She'd missed his friendship.

"Veronica," Logan said after a long silence had passed. He waited until she turned to look at him. He lifted their still joined hands to his thigh and turned to face her. "Now this is going to seem like it's coming out of left field and you've probably never thought about it but I have to do this."

Veronica stared at Logan wondering what he was talking about. But she froze when she saw the look in his eyes. It was the universal look all guys got when they were about to make a move on a girl. She should know, she'd caught it on film plenty of times. It was the shot that always came right before the money shot.

Logan stared at her, noting the look of apprehension on her face. He didn't know if she'd thought about it but he was feeling something whenever he looked at her. He couldn't hold back anymore. He'd never been very good at keeping his emotions hidden. He usually wore them on his sleeve.

He pulled her closer lowering his lips to hers. He pulled back from the instant spark that seemed to crackle between them. He gazed into her eyes, seeing the look of wonder and disbelief that this was happening. He smiled slightly as he leaned forward again this time placing both his hands on her face cheering inside when her lips parted. Logan took control of the kiss and soon they both had their arms wrapped around each other pulling one another as close as they could get.

Veronica was the first to pull away, only because she needed to breath. She stared at him unwrapping her arms from around him. She raised one hand to her lips which were still tingling from the spark that had flared from the moment their lips had touched. Well, that's not how she'd pictured the night ending.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everybody! I tried to post last night but either wouldn't let me or my internet provider was messed up. But here it is. I'm sorry for the wait. I hope you like it. **

**Thank you to everybody who reviewed the last chapter.**

Veronica pulled into the school parking lot slowly keeping her eyes peeled for Logan's monstrosity of a vehicle. She put the car in park as she stared at it in one of the coveted front parking spots right in front of the school. She'd been hoping that he'd blow off school, it was usually a fifty fifty shot for him to show up anyway, but no, today he had to show up.

She climbed out of the car grabbing her bag in one hand. She strolled into the school and the first person she saw was Madison Sinclair ((thank you for telling me how to spell it). She stared at her before mumbling to one of her friends making them all laugh.

"I guess the truce is over," Veronica said pausing for a moment. But knowing that things were going back to normal with the 09ers whispering about her once again made her feel less nervous about seeing Logan. She couldn't explain why having her peers laugh at her relaxed her.

"Hey V," Wallace said joining her as she made her way to her locker.

"Hey Wallace," Veronica said but her eyes were continually looking for Logan.

"Are you looking for somebody?" Wallace asked his gaze following hers as she scanned the crowded hallway.

"No," Veronica said quickly opening her locker.

"Sure," Wallace said not buying her denial for a moment. "Clemmons coming at you," he said standing back as their principal stopped in front of her locker.

""Veronica. My office. Now," Clemmons said before turning to lead the way.

"I love this school," Veronica said sarcastically. She saw Logan just entering the hallway and hurried so she was walking beside Clemmons. She could feel his eyes on her but she didn't look his way again.

Veronica walked out of Clemmons's office ten minutes later looking smug. She barreled right into Logan who'd been waiting for her. "Logan," she said honestly surprised. The bell had rang shortly after she'd entered Clemmons's office so he was now late for their first hour which happened to be journalism.

"Veronica," Logan said glancing at the office before smiling down at her. "So am I to assume since you left his office of your own free will that you aren't in any trouble."

"You know what they say when you assume," Veronica said surprised they were falling right into their normal banter. She'd been expecting some long drawn out discussion on what had happened the night before but Logan was surprising her once again.

"Funny," Logan said smiling at her. He fell into step beside her as they made their way to their first hour. "So what did Clemmons want?"

"He wanted to hire me," Veronica said laughing when Logan stopped to stare at her. "Seriously, and for my payment I get a personal recommendation that we both know I never would have gotten by just asking for it, a new locker and two excused absences whenever I want them."

"Really?" Logan said as they resumed walking. "What's the case?"

"Polly's missing," Veronica said as they reached the door for journalism.

"Who's Polly?" Logan asked confused.

"Our school mascot," Veronica said rolling at her eyes. "I can't believe you don't know our school mascot."

"That would require actually carrying about anything having to do with this school," Logan pointed out.

"True," Veronica agreed as she opened the door.

"Veronica…Logan," Mrs. Dent said as they disrupted the class by arriving late.

"We were with Clemmons," Veronica said bending the truth a little.

"Okay," she said as she turned back to addressing the class.

Veronica and Logan made their way to their respective seats which happened to be right across from each other. They both listened while Mrs. Dent gave out assignments but never once took their eyes off each other…until Veronica's cell phone rang. She smiled apologetically at Mrs. Dent but was surprised to see that she wasn't in the classroom anymore and everybody had moved to their stations to either write or research their articles for the newspaper. How long had she been staring at Logan?

"Hello," Veronica said quietly into the mouthpiece. When nobody said anything she said it one more time before hanging up.

"Hang up?" Logan asked as she put her cell on the table by her bag.

"I've been getting these calls…three so far," Veronica said shaking her head. "All this morning since about four am."

"Can you trace it?" Logan asked sounding concerned.

"Unknown number," Veronica replied but her phone started ringing again and she rolled her eyes as she answered it one more time. "Hello…Oh hi, nice breathing. Yep, just keeps getting better and better."

"Hang up," Logan told her.

"Would you either tell me who this is or stop calling," Veronica said. "It's getting pretty-"

"Ver…Veronica," somebody stuttered.

"Mom," Veronica said barely loud enough for Logan to hear. She was standing up throwing her notebook in her bag as she hurried from the room. She didn't care if she got a detention for skipping out on class. "Mom, where are you?" When nobody said anything Veronica got impatient. She pushed through the doors that lead towards the parking lot and started jogging towards her car.

"Veronica," Logan said following her. The moment her heard her say Mom he'd known that this call was a huge break in her case. She'd found her Mother…alive.

"Mom!" Veronica called again sighing in relief when somebody started talking again.

"This is a pay phone. You must be talking about that blonde lady," the voice said.

"A pay phone where?" Veronica said opening the back door so she could toss her bag in. She barely noticed Logan climbing into the passenger seat. She didn't even think of arguing with him about his tagging along. She wanted him there…it was simple as that.

"Sagebrush Cantina, Barstow."

"Thanks," Veronica said hanging up. "She's in Barstow."

"How'd you find her?" Logan asked after a moment of silence had gone by.

"I didn't," Veronica said softly. She stopped at a red light and looked at Logan. "She called me."

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Logan and Veronica hurried into the bar looking around. Logan nudged Veronica's shoulder as he pointed to a blonde woman sitting at the bar. She looked at them through bleary eyes without recognizing them but they both could see it click in her brain that her daughter was standing right in front of her.

"Veronica. Oh, my god, no. No, please," Lianne said distressed. She pushed Veronica's hands away and knocked her drink onto the floor.

"Mom please," Veronica said embarrassed for Logan to be seeing her Mother like this. She'd always tried to hide the fact that her Mom was a drunk. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

"No! No. I can't be seen with you. They are gonna hurt you," Lianne said trying to pull away from Veronica.

"Mom. I know who's doing it. Mom. I know who was blackmailing us. You're safe now," Veronica said calmly as she lead her out of the bar. She didn't see Clarence Wiedman inside his car on his cell phone, nor did she see him start the car and pull out of the parking lot.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. Honey, just please go. Please go, baby," Lianne said barely registering that they were already out of the bar and on their way to the Diner next door.

Veronica smiled at Logan when he ran ahead and opened the door, making it easier for Veronica to steer her Mother into a booth. She waited for her Mother to scoot over so she could sit beside her but sighed and sat down across from her besides Logan who had scooted over.

"I have been searching for you for a year. I'm not going anywhere," Veronica said still unable to believe that she was sitting across from her Mom. She'd imagined this moment from the beginning when she'd started her search but she hadn't pictured it in a Diner in a nowhere town. She also hadn't pictured her Mother being drunk at the time. She leaned forward so she could hold onto her Mother's hand but Lianne yanked her hand away before her daughter could touch it.

Veronica lowered her hands and put them in her lap surprised when Logan reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently as he went to release it. Veronica latched onto Logan's hand deciding that hanging onto him was probably better than hanging onto her Mother who'd disappeared for over a year and who like she was ready to run again.

"This is bad. This is very bad, you shouldn't be here," Lianne mumbled looking around trying to place where she was.

"Neither should you," Veronica pointed out swallowing the lump in her throat. Her Mom had a lost a ton of weight and she looked ten years older, if it was possible. "Where'd you go?"

"I had to go," Lianne said not answering her question. "I had to leave…to protect you. I left and I followed the orders. I left..I did…I left."

Veronica could feel a headache forming behind her eyes. It had always been this way, when Lianne Mars drank she became impossible to deal with. She just started rambling and none of it made sense.

"Can we get some coffee over here please?" she asked a passing waitress. When the waitress walked towards the coffee pot she turned back to her Mom. "I know who ordered you to leave Mom…I know."

"What," Lianne said hearing her daughter for the first time. She looked at the cup of coffee the waitress set in front of her, picking it up to take a drink. "You shouldn't see me like this."

"I'm just happy I'm seeing you Mom," Veronica said honestly.

"Logan!" Lianne said surprised, seeing him for the first time. She blinked a couple times making sure she wasn't imagining him before turning back to Veronica. "How's my makeup?"

"Just like a girl Mom," Veronica said smiling sadly at her. "Logan doesn't care about those things right Logan?"

"Nope," Logan said shaking his head. "If I did I wouldn't have kissed your daughter last night Mrs. Mars." He could feel Veronica staring at him, more like glaring at him but he just smiled. She probably thought he would pretend the kiss never happened but she was wrong. He was glad the kiss had happened. "You should have seen her last night Mrs. Mars…blue eye shadow and crimped hair."

"There was a dance Mom," Veronica said quickly elbowing Logan in the stomach letting him know she didn't appreciate him telling her Mom that they'd kissed. She wasn't sure she wanted anyone knowing that they'd shared a moment on the beach the night before. She wasn't done dissecting it.

"Oh, that sounds fun. Did you go with Logan?" Lianne asked smiling at the two of them.

Veronica opened her mouth to deny but closed it instead. She didn't want to talk about the school dance or Logan. She had so many questions and her Mother was the only one who could answer them for her. Well her Mother and Jake Kane.

"No Mrs. Mars, we didn't go to the dance together," Logan said finally answering Lianne when it became apparent that Veronica wasn't going to. "We met up later, after the dance."

"Oh," Lianne said trying to think of something else to talk about but Veronica beat her to it.

"I know about your affair with Jake Kane," Veronica said bluntly. She watched as her Mom looked down at her hands without saying anything. "Were you so adamant that dad not go after Jake for Lilly's murder because you still had feelings for him?"

"Veronica," Lianne said softly.

"Tell me," Veronica insisted.

"Jake was innocent," Lianne finally said staring into her daughter's eyes. She was about to shatter all of her illusions about their family back then but she was sick of lying to people.

"How can you possible know that?" Veronica asked getting upset. "Because you love him…have always loved him." She couldn't hold the tears back and wiped them away furiously as they started falling. She gripped Logan's hand even tighter afraid of hearing her Mother's answer.

"Because I was with him at the time of the murder. We were in a hotel room at the Neptune Grand," Lianne said watching as Veronica fell back against the seat.

"How long has the affair been going on?" Veronica asked through clenched teeth.

"On and off since high school," Lianne admitted. She sat up and continued earnestly, "but we weren't together at that time. We had ended it months earlier…that time."

"So what, you were just starting it up again," Veronica said wondering if a relationship between two people was ever possible. If a real relationship with love and trust could ever happen. She had yet to see one. She smirked when she realized something. "Guess you couldn't tell Dad you were in a hotel with your ex."

"It wasn't like that," Lianne insisted. "I just went there to talk to him."

"Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that from cheating spouses in the past year?" Veronica asked shaking her head at the most commonly used excuse. "You just went to talk and you tripped your lips landing on his.

"I met him at the hotel to tell him to get Celeste to leave you alone," Lianne said clasping her hands around her coffee cup.

"Celeste Kane wasn't bothering me," Veronica said confused. "I mean she was rude but so was most of the 09er population."

"She'd been leaving you messages for days before I went and saw him," Lianne admitted. When Veronica stared at her in shock she sighed. "I deleted them before you got home from school. She knew about our affair, I think she always knew. But now she had ammunition to get you to stop seeing Duncan."

"How could that have possible made me stop seeing Duncan?" Veronica asked unable to put the pieces together.

"Because she would go to your Father with the information if you didn't break up with Duncan," Lianne explained.

"Mom," Veronica said staring at her because she wanted her to know she was dead serious with the next statement. "If Celeste Kane had told me you were having an affair with Jake I would have been the first to go to Dad." When Lianne just opened her mouth and closed it a couple times Veronica glared at her. "He deserved better from you."

"I know that," Lianne agreed.

Veronica stared down at her hands wondering if she should ask the question that she knew she had to ask or she would just keep wondering about it. She'd keep throwing up when she remembered the months Duncan and her had dated.

"Is Jake Kane my father?" She finally spit out looking up in time to watch her Mother's face lose all color.

"I don't know," Lianne admitted her heart breaking for not being able to tell her daughter the truth.

"Quit lying to me!" Veronica yelled shocking everybody in the diner.

Logan pulled his hand away and wrapped his arm around Veronica whispering for her to calm down over and over. He hated seeing her like this. It wasn't fair that she had to sit hear listening to her own Mother talk about loving Jake Kane.

"I'm not, I swear," Lianne insisted.

"Then who is my Father because Keith Mars failed the paternity test," Veronica said beginning to cry even harder. She could barely talk through the sobs. "I took a test. I had to know. I can't believe Abel Koontz will tell me the truth but my own Mother can't."

"You talked to Abel Koontz," Lianne said shocked.

"Seems to me he's the only one who can tell me anything," Veronica said glaring at her. She leaned against Logan grateful to have him sitting beside her. She was no longer embarrassed to have him witness the mess that was her Mother.

"Stay away from him…he killed Lily Kane Veronica," Lianne said worried for her daughter.

"No he didn't," Veronica said standing up.

"He confessed!" Lianne cried out.

Veronica looked up at the ceiling as she said, "why does that one fact keep coming to bite me in the ass?" She looked at Lianne when she said, "I know because I'm investigating Lily's death. Because I actually follow the evidence and not bury it because somebody donates money to my department."

"Jake Kane didn't kill Lily Veronica," Lianne said softly.

"I believe you," Veronica said surprising both Logan and Lianne. "But that still leaves Celeste…and Duncan."

"Oh Veronica," Lianne said staring at her. "You can't believe that Duncan…"

"I don't know what I believe anymore," Veronica admitted softly. She climbed out of the booth and stared down at the women who'd given her life but had ceased to be her Mother when she'd ran away. "My whole life is one damn soap opera and you're the cause for it all. I don't know who I am anymore."

"Veronica," Lianne said following her out of the Diner and towards Veronica's car. Logan followed at a slower pace letting Veronica have her space to deal with her Mother.

"I have to go Lianne," Veronica said coldly. She turned to watch the insult hit home. "I have a case to finish. I will find out who killed Lily…and Jake Kane, the love of your life, will go down for hiding the real killer."

"Veronica," Lianne said again.

"I actually came out here because I was worried about you," Veronica cried out. "I found those pictures and I was worried. Then I started getting pictures and I knew I was onto something. But now I'm wondering if this wasn't just some way to distract me. You don't know anything."

"I know that you need to stay away from Celeste Kane," Lianne said stopping Veronica from climbing into her car. "She sent me those pictures. She hates you honey."

"You know what Lianne," Veronica said insulting her once again. "I don't blame her. Her husband has been cheating on her for over a decade and every time she sees me she knows that. So I don't blame her for hating me."

"But the pictures.." Lianne insisted.

"Were a way to get you out of town," Veronica said realizing the truth. "And it worked like a charm. She wanted you gone, away from her husband. Away from her family." Veronica shook her head as she stared at the pathetic excuse for a Mother. "I came here to ask you to come home. But now I'm going to ask you to stay gone." When Lianne started crying she had to force herself to stay where she was. "We don't need you in our lives anymore. Dad and I, we're a team now."

"Veronica," Lianne whispered but she had to watch as her daughter climbed into her car without even one last glance. She stared at Logan who was staring down at the ground as he also climbed into the passenger seat. She fell to her knees as she watched Veronica pull out of the parking lot and onto the highway. She wished she could go back and stop herself from calling Veronica earlier. At least then she'd still have had her daughter's love and loyalty…now she had nothing.

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"Veronica," Logan said watching as she picked up more speed. They were already passing all the cars on the highway and he tightened his seat belt remembering another car accident in the not so distant past where she'd gotten hurt. "Pull over."

"No," Veronica said her hands clenched as tight as they could be on the steering wheel.

"Pull over now," Logan said reaching over to grab onto the steering wheel. "You don't want to get in another car crash Veronica. You just got your car back."

Veronica finally heard him and started slowing down as she pulled into the first rest stop she came too. She climbed out of the car, leaving it on and running as she stormed away but turned back around and kicked her tire once and then repeatedly. She wrapped her arms around her stomach trying to hold all the pain inside but it was already leaking out as she started crying harder.

"Veronica," Logan said pulling her into his arms. He whispered into her hair as she latched onto him.

"She cheated on him," Veronica said softly.

"We knew that," Logan reminded her.

"Yeah but continually…for years," Veronica said pulling back so she could see his face. "She's been in love with Jake Kane since high school. She settled for my Dad."

"Who would you rather have raised you Veronica?" Logan asked sensibly.

"My Dad," Veronica said without even thinking about it.

"Exactly," Logan said smiling as he stroked her hair. "Keith Mars is your father regardless of what Lianne told you tonight." They stared at each other both lost in their thoughts but Logan broke the silence first. "How come you never told me your Mom was a drunk?"

"I was embarrassed," Veronica admitted sheepishly. "Seems kinda dumb now looking back. But I never wanted you to see what she was really like. So I only invited you over on the good days."

"My Mom drinks too," Logan said using the present tense. He knew he should think of her as dead. That's what she wanted everybody to think but he couldn't. He knew she was out there…alive. "Seems we have a lot in common." When Veronica looked at him puzzled he clarified it for her. "Your Mother is a cheat and a drunk and my Mother is the drunk whereas my father is the cheat. At least you have one good parent."

"I'm sorry Logan," Veronica said softly.

"Not your fault," Logan said shrugging his shoulders.

"But you've had to deal with a lot lately and here I am just piling it on with my own drama," Veronica said trying to pull away as she wiped her eyes. "It's not fair of me."

"Dammit Veronica," Logan said pulling her back so their bodies were touching. "I want to be there for you. I want you to lean on me."

"Why?" Veronica asked but she was afraid she already knew the answer.

"Because…because," Logan said searching for an appropriate reason that wouldn't scare her but he couldn't. "Because I'm falling for you and I can't stop it."

"No," Veronica said shaking her head. Denying the possibility that Logan could have feelings for her. "You're just feeling gratitude-"

"Gratitude for what?" Logan asked her arching one of his eyebrows when she didn't say anything. "For helping me find out that my Mother is alive but chooses to be elsewhere. I gotta tell you, I'm not real grateful for that bit of information."

"Logan," Veronica said but she didn't know what to say.

"I know you don't…feel the same way," Logan finally said hating that he couldn't hide the pain he felt at her obvious discomfort with the thought of them being anything. "I get it. I'm still the psychotic jackass who's treated you like a leper for the better part of a year. But at least let me be there for you when you're hurt. Let me be your friend."

"Logan," Veronica said again but this time she reached up and cupped his cheek gently. "You are my friend."

"Then don't pull away," Logan said shaking her a little bit as he smiled at her. "Let me do this for you. You've just been dealt a blow far worse than the one I experienced yesterday, let me be here for you."

Veronica nodded and she took a deep breath. They stayed there for what seemed like hours. Both had their arms wrapped around each other accepting the comfort and the peace that being with one other brought them.

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Veronica walked into the school later the next night. She'd dropped Logan off the night before and then headed to Pan High where she pretended to be Betty instead of Veronica. She'd wanted to go to Clemmons and tell him she had to much on her plate to handle the case of the missing parrot but she really wanted that recommendation letter. Plus, whoever the culprit had been was hurting Wallace by trying to keep him out of the big game. And that wasn't cool.

It had taken almost 24 hours before she'd finally found out who the thief was. She'd had to enlist Meg's help and that had been uncomfortable but necessary. Though it hurt to see her with Duncan she needed to get used to it. Besides, if Duncan was her brother she wanted him to be with somebody great and Meg was better than great.

Veronica hurried towards the basketball team who was getting ready to warm up. Only Wallace was still in his track suit giving Jack a pep talk.

"You better warm up, Fennel," Veronica said smiling at him.

""You got Polly back?" Wallace asked hopefully.

"I kinda rock," Veronica pointed out. She turned to Jack and smirked at him. "I know what you're thinking Jack. Aarrgh. Whoever made that death threat video forgot to cover up the number thirteen on his sneakers." When the team started muttering and glaring at him she continued. "Now there are two thirteen's suiting up tonight. Your Pan counterpart believes that a kid named Wilson stole the parrot."

"Why would I steal our own parrot?" Jack asked glaring at her.

"That's easy. With Wallace sitting out, you'll go back to being a starter. As point guard, you can control the score of the game. You know, like you did last year when you missed those two free throws in the final minute? How much money did you make betting against your own team last year?" Veronica asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"You went in my room? I mean, isn't that like breaking and entering or something?" Jack asked looking at his team mates but nobody came to his defense.

"I told your mom I was a cheerleader and we needed Polly for the game tonight. She let me in," Veronica explained. "You're the guy covering all of Weevil's bets. There must be thousands of dollars bet on this game. You're pretty screwed here, Jack."

"Guys," Jack said but Clemmons was already leading him down the hall. "Wallace, man!"

Veronica stood back and watched as the team embraced Wallace. She watched him strip down into his shorts and jersey and the couch handed him the basketball so he could lead them into the gym. "Go kick some ass, Air Fennel." She tapped fists with him before he takes off into the gym to the screams off all the fans.

Veronica paused before leaving staring at the gym doors which were now closed. It was Wallace's big night and she really wanted to be there for him but she also wanted to go home and hide away. To finally deal with the information she'd gotten from her Mother. She'd put it in the back of her mind but it was time to see how it helped with Lily's case.

"Veronica," Logan said walking toward her.

"Logan," Veronica said turning to face him as he reached her. He'd barely left six inches between their bodies but she didn't step away. After his confession about his feelings she found herself wanting to tell him that she did feel the same way. That she was falling for him, the new him. But something was holding her back and she wanted to figure out what that was before she let herself fall completely. "I thought you didn't care about anything to do with this school."

"I don't," Logan told her smiling. "But I care about you. And I know you are going to walk into that gym and watch a certain Wallace Fennel play the game of his life…aren't you?"

Veronica turned to stare at the door once again. She was quiet for a moment debating the issue but finally nodded. "Yeah, I am." She had time to deal with her Mother's confession but this was the only chance she had on showing Wallace that he did matter to her, as more than a friend who did her favors. Besides, she could spend more time with Logan.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey everybody. I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I've reread it a couple times and I go from loving it to not being sure. So if you could please let me know what you think, that would be great.**

**Oh and to everybody who keeps pointing out little things like Logan knowing in the pilot that Veronica's Mom is an alcoholic, well in my story we'll pretend he didn't. So if I ever write something that contradicts what the show said it's probably because I want it that way. But thanks for being so detailed. I forgot all about that scene. :) **

Veronica walked into her apartment her mind consumed with everything her Mother told her the day before. So Jake Kane couldn't have killed Lily. Veronica was able to mark one suspect off her list but she needed to ask her Dad what Celeste's alibi was along with Duncan's.

She waved at her Dad who was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. She sat down on her bed and turned her computer on wondering why Abel Koontz would have confessed to murdering Lily. She knew he was dying, having read his hospital chart at the Doctor's office but how did that fit in with Lily's murder.

"Dad, can you come in here for a minute?" Veronica asked a couple minutes later.

"I really need to get you a bell so you can ring for me," Keith joked leaning against the doorframe. He was holding up Neptune's local paper when he said, "Looks like Neptune beat the hell out of Pan last night."

"Yeah," Veronica said distractedly. She looked up from her laptop, "I want you to answer me something, honestly."

"Sure, honey," Keith said walking farther into the room and sitting down on her desk char.

"Don't get mad and don't blow me off, just answer me, please," Veronica said stalling.

"Okay," he said leaning forward.

"Why would a person agree to confess to a murder he didn't commit?" Veronica asked quickly getting it all out before her Dad could stop her.

"Veronica," Keith sighed. But when her eyes pleaded with him to be honest and tell her the truth he went on. "Money, a lot of it."

"But if you're not around to spend that money, what does it matter?" Veronica asked confused.

"How did you…" Keith started to ask but he just stared at her for a moment. Of course she knew, she would have dug until she found out everything about Abel Koontz. "Who told you he was dying?"

"Nobody," Veronica admitted. She stared down at her hands that she had clasped in her lap before she confessed to everything. "I…uh…read his chart at his Doctor's office." She looked up at her Dad. "The same Doctor's office that the Kane's use."

"And what else did you read at the Doctor's office?" Keith asked waiting to hear all of it before he lost it.

"That Duncan has a type of epilepsy that causes him to have rages and black outs," Veronica explained. She stared at him. "But you knew that."

"No I didn't," Keith said shaking his head. "They didn't just let you read their files."

"No they didn't," Veronica agreed.

Keith stared at his daughter wondering where she'd learned how to be as sneaky and gutsy to sneak a peek at a Doctor's private files. "Well, maybe there's someone else. Someone you care about that will be around after that person dies," he said finally answering her question. He stood up to leave.

"I saw Mom," Veronica said before he got out the door.

"What?" Keith asked sure he'd heard her wrong.

"She called me yesterday," Veronica said softly. "I went to see her…to ask her something."

"Where is she?" Keith asked shocked that Veronica had seen and talked to his wife when he hadn't seen or heard from her since she left.

"I don't know," Veronica admitted. "After Logan and I drug her out of a bar we talked for awhile and I left her kneeling in a parking lot of some Diner." She closed her laptop and set it aside. "I hate her."

"You do not hate your Mother," Keith said after a minute of silence had passed.

"She's been having an affair with Jake Kane for my entire life," Veronica said staring intently in his eyes so she could see his reaction. When he looked down at his hands it was like an admission of guilt. "You knew!"

"Veronica," Keith said calmly.

"How could you let her do that to you?" Veronica asked standing up so she could pace away the anger she had inside. "Have you no pride?"

"I didn't know for sure," Keith said before she could say anything else.

"But you suspected," Veronica said without looking at him.

"Yes," Keith admitted. "I wondered…"

"How could you let me date Duncan suspecting that?" Veronica asked facing him once again.

"I could see how you felt about him," Keith said wishing he could wrap her in his arms and take away the pain in her eyes. "And like I said, I didn't know for sure."

"But he's my brother!" Veronica yelled at him but she froze when she realized what she said. If there was ever a moment where she wished she could take something back, this was it.

"What are you talking about?" Keith asked shocked and confused at the same time.

"I took a blood test Dad," Veronica whispered just loud enough for him to hear. "When Able Koontz told me that I might not be yours…I had to know."

"When did you ever talk to Abel Koontz?" Keith asked already knowing the answer.

"I went to see him…in prison," Veronica admitted.

"You are so grounded," Keith said shaking his head at her. "How could you go visit a confessed killer in prison Veronica? I thought I raised a smart girl but you are showing signs of-"

"We both know he didn't kill Lily," Veronica said interrupting him before he could insult her. "Besides, who would have thought that Abel Koontz would tell me the truth and not my own parents."

Keith stared at her like she punched him in the stomach hard enough to knock the wind out of him. First she tells him that his wife had been cheating on him for their entire marriage instead of just a couple years like he'd suspected. Then she tells him that she had a blood test taken and that he's not her father and finally she accused him of lying to her about everything. But he put all that aside and just pulled his squirming daughter into his arms and held her as she stared sobbing. He'd never seen her cry so hard and witnessing his tough girl lose control brought tears to his own eyes.

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"You didn't know," Veronica said over an hour later, "did you?"

Keith sat on the floor of her bedroom stroking her hair as her head was laying on his chest. She'd only stopped crying minutes ago and was now just shuddering every couple seconds.

"No, I didn't know," Keith said softly.

"I'm sorry Dad," Veronica whispered. "I've just….I've had a lot of stuff bottled up for awhile now."

"I can tell," Keith said trying to lighten the mood a bit. "What exactly did your Mother tell you Veronica?"

Veronica closed her eyes wishing that she hadn't started this whole conversation. She hated hurting her father. He was her hero. He was her everything. The only person in her life that was always honest. She shouldn't have taken her anger out on him.

"That she doesn't know who my father is," Veronica said softly.

"And you took a test…when?" Keith asked.

"Remember when I told you I had an extra credit assignment," Veronica said pausing allowing him time to remember.

"And you had me give my blood instead of yours because you couldn't prick yourself with the needle," Keith said softly. "I always thought that was a little strange."

"I had to know," Veronica whispered.

"And the tests say…I'm not your Dad," Keith said his voice breaking at the thought.

"No!" Veronica exclaimed sitting up so she could turn and face him. "You will always be my Dad…no matter what that test says."

"But you think Jake Kane…" Keith said his voice trailing off. He couldn't finish the thought, it made his heart break just at the idea.

"It makes sense…don't you think," Veronica said shuddering at the thought of having Jake as her father. She just remembered how Lily had turned out and if she'd been raised by Jake and Celeste…would she have turned out the same way? Or would she be like Duncan. Tailor made to think and act a certain way. It was almost like he didn't have his own brain, he just did what was expected of him. She didn't want to be like that.

"Then I think we should go talk to Jake Kane," Keith said raising his hand to stop the argument before it began. "I know you don't want to. I know you say you don't care but someday you might."

"It won't change anything," Veronica insisted shaking her head.

"You wouldn't be my daughter if it did," Keith whispered pulling his daughter back into his arms for another hug. He never wanted to let go but he was afraid that he might have too.

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Veronica sat on the couch at Mars Investigations inputting the newest information she had on Lily's case on her laptop. She had found Abel Koontz's daughter and had hidden her away in a hotel. She knew Clarence Weidman was hot on the trail, trying to sabotage their chance at proving Abel wasn't Lily's killer and she had to stay one step ahead of him.

"Hey," Logan said from the entry way of the office.

"Hey," Veronica said sitting up. She exited out of the document she was typing in and set her laptop on the coffee table.

"So you seem distracted at school today," Logan said walking farther into the room.

"Yeah…I…uh…had a long talk with my Dad last night," Veronica admitted quietly.

"You told him," Logan said surprised. The last time they'd talked about it she'd claimed that she didn't want to hurt her father anymore than he'd been hurt already.

"It slipped out," Veronica said looking down at her hands that were clenched tight in her lap. "He knows about my Mom and Jake. He knows that he's not…well I told him about the test results. He knows that I've been to see Abel Koontz, I'm grounded by the way."

"Didn't like the fact that you went to see him in prison huh?" Logan said smiling at her.

"No, he was a little angry," Veronica said but then she rolled her eyes. "He was angrier than I've ever seen him. I honestly thought he would lock me in my room and throw away the key."

"I'm surprised he didn't," Logan said hating that their conversation was all stilted. It had been this way since he'd confessed that he had feelings towards her. He wanted them to be comfortable around each other. "Look Veronica-"

"Veronica!" Keith called from inside his office.

"One moment," Veronica said holding up a finger as she hurried into her father's office.

Logan stood in place for a moment before making his way over to the couch to sit down. He wanted to tell Veronica that she didn't have to act different around him now that she knew how he felt. He wanted her to be normal…he wanted her to be the feisty girl that he'd come to know and fall for.

He sat there for a minute but when Veronica didn't come out of her father's office he got bored. And when Logan Echoll's got bored he got nosy. He picked her laptop up wondering what school assignment she was working on but when he saw the Lily Kane Investigation typed up he froze. It only took him a second to realize that if he read it she'd get pissed but that didn't stop him from getting more comfortable and opening up the file.

"What do you think you're doing?" Veronica asked when she walked out of her father's office and saw Logan sitting on the couch reading her laptop.

"God Veronica," Logan said surprised he was able to set the computer down gently when he was so angry. "Do you trust anybody?"

"You knew I was investigating Logan," Veronica pointed out calmly. She could see his anger, it was written all over his face.

"Yeah I knew you suspected The Kane's but there's a lot of other people on that list," Logan said gesturing towards the computer.

"Everybody who knew Lily is a suspect," Veronica said crossing her arms over her chest. It was hard to believe that this was the same boy that had confessed to having feelings towards her. Right now he looked like he wanted to revert to the psychotic jackass and smash her computer this time instead of her headlights on her car.

"I'm a suspect," Logan said his voice cracking. "You honestly think I could have killed Lily."

"Logan," Veronica said tilting her head to the side as she tried to appeal to the boy who'd been her friend these past few weeks.

"I loved her Veronica," Logan said noticing that her father was standing in the doorway of his office and no longer working at his desk. "I would have killed for her, not killed her."

"What does it even matter Logan?" Veronica asked confused. "You weren't even here. You were out of the country. Two eye witnesses, it's airtight."

"What if I told you that I wasn't out of the country," Logan said staring at her. He could see the suspicion rise in her eyes and he laughed but there was nothing funny about it. "I knew it. You think I could have killed Lily."

"Are you telling me you weren't in Mexico?" Veronica asked.

"No I wasn't in Mexico," Logan admitted as he walked towards the door. "I was right here in Neptune. I saw you at the carwash with Lily and was pissed at the both of you. So I drove off and got drunk. Woke up the next morning and Lily was dead."

Veronica watched him as he walked right out of the office and slammed the door behind him. She barely made it to the couch to sit down before her legs gave out one her. She stared at the computer and saw that he'd left it open on his file. She knew she had to lean over and type in that he had no alibi but she didn't want to.

"Honey," Keith said walking towards his daughter.

"He didn't do it Dad," Veronica said whipping around to face him. "I know that he has no alibi but I know he couldn't have killed Lily."

"He admitted he was angry that day Veronica," Keith pointed out.

"I've seen Logan pissed off Dad," Veronica insisted. "Believe me, he's been pissed at me all year. But he never could have killed Lily."

Keith stared at her and smiled softly. "It's good to see a little of the old Veronica shine through," he said cryptically.

"What does that mean?" Veronica asked confused following him back to his office.

"The old Veronica would have trusted Logan without him having to have an alibi," Keith said sitting back down behind his desk. "The new Veronica would have started investigating into his where abouts that day." He saw her face flush and smiled even bigger. "It's okay that you trust him Veronica. I agree with you…Logan couldn't have killed Lily."

"He's a good guy," Veronica said thoughtfully. "Isn't he?"

"Let's just say he's a work in progress," Keith said forever the protective father. He hated to ruin her good mood but he wanted to remind her of what they'd been talking about before the Logan blow up. "Remember, meeting with Jake Kane tomorrow at 4."

"I remember Dad," Veronica said sighing. She stood in his office for another moment staring at the man who she knew to be her Dad but she couldn't help but be afraid of what a test might say in the future.

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"Jake," Keith said as he walked into Jake's office at Kane Software the next day. Veronica was behind him but didn't say a word as they took their seats in front of Jake's desk. "Thank you for meeting us."

"I gotta say I was surprised," Jake said obviously confused as to why Keith Mars would request a meeting with his daughter. He could only assume it had something to do with the Kane's Lily Remembrance College Fund. "Did you have any questions about the college scholarship?"

"No Jake," Keith said looking at his daughter but she was just sitting there staring at Jake.

"Okay then," Jake said fidgeting in his seat when he noticed the blank stare Veronica was wearing. She was just staring at him with a look he couldn't decipher. "What can I help you with?"

"You can start by telling me why you've been having an affair with my Mother for the past 16 years," Veronica said coldly. She could feel her father's gaze and she knew he wasn't happy that she'd started the conversation that way but she couldn't help it. Every time she stared at him she pictured him with her Mother for her entire life. She hated him.

"Veronica…" Jake said looking between her and Keith. "I don't know where you're getting your information but-"

"My Mother," Veronica said before he could get the lie out. "I saw her the other day. She's not doing so good."

"You saw your Mom," Jake said sitting up straighter.

"Maybe I could see more of her if you wouldn't have run her out of town," Veronica said glaring at him.

"I had nothing to do with those photographs Veronica," Jake said calmly.

"Then who did?" Veronica asked smirking when he didn't say anything. "Your security specialist took them. Threatened to kill me and then threatened to kill my Mom if I didn't stop looking for her. Well I didn't stop. I found her."

"What pictures?" Keith asked confused.

"Why my Mom?" Veronica asked clenching her fists when her voice broke. She wasn't going to cry. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. "There are tons of women in Neptune, women who would be glad to spice up your sex life. I've seen them. Why go after my Mom who had a family?"

"I've known Lianne for years," Jake started to say but Veronica cut him off.

"I know, I've seen the yearbook," Veronica said standing up.

"I loved your Mother Veronica," Jake said using the past tense.

"When'd you quit?" Veronica asked crossing her arms over her chest. "When you realized I might be your daughter and that the secret might come out and ruin your perfect little family?"

"My daughter?" Jake said standing up quickly.

"Like you didn't know," Veronica said her tone of voice like ice. She turned and walked out of his office unable to stand there listening to his lies anymore. Just being in his presence made her sick to her stomach.

"I had no idea," Jake said softly. He sat back down in his chair forgetting for a moment that there was still another person in his office.

"Is it possible though?" Keith asked quietly. Jake looked up at him and mentally did the math and Keith could tell from the look on his face that it was possible. "I think we should have a test done…quietly," Keith suggested.

"Of course," Jake said still distracted. He was too busy thinking about Lianne and the possibility of having another daughter. He barely noticed when Keith stood up and left his office. Minutes later he picked up his phone making the call to his doctor setting up tests for both Veronica and himself. As he hung up he couldn't help but wonder if Veronica was his. He kept trying to find similarities in their looks but every time he tried pictures Veronica, he just saw Lianne.


	15. Chapter 15

**So I am so sorry about the wait but I had to get this chapter perfect. This is my favorite episode ever so I had to try and do it justice. I love the changes I made to this episode and I hope you do too. Thank you to everybody who reviewed the last chapter. I loved every one. **

Veronica walked into the school the next day replaying her Dad's words in her mind over and over. He was dating Alicia Fennel, Wallace's Mom. She'd been shocked but then had realized that's what had been making her Father so happy lately. She spotted Wallace waiting by her locker and headed towards him with a smile on her face.

"Hey lil brother," she said cheekily earning a glare from him.

"That's so not even funny," Wallace grumbled. He'd barely slept a wink the night before just thinking about his Mother and Keith Mars dating. He'd always been supportive of his Mom's relationships but this one was hitting a little close to home.

"Hey, on the bright side, if our parents get hitched, we could have bunk beds and stay up all night talking," Veronica teased laughing when Wallace scowled.

"You're truly sick," he said shaking his head.

"I've always wanted a little brother I could dress up like a little doll," Veronica said thoughtfully picturing Wallace in a dress which made her burst out laughing.

"Yeah? See how that works out for you," Wallace said realizing that she wasn't going to be any help with discussing their parent's relationship at the moment. He'd learned early on in their friendship that when she started cracking jokes it was best to walk away and wait for a better time.

Veronica watched him walk away and smiled sadly. She hadn't realized he really had a problem with their parent's dating. She would have thought he'd be laughing and joking about it but that was obviously not the case. S

She shut her locker and turned to head towards her first hour when she saw Logan standing at the end of the hallway with Dick and Beaver. He was staring intently at her and she attempted to wave and even smiled at him but he just turned and walked into their journalism class. She sighed and followed his lead but headed towards her seat which was still directly across from him.

"Hey," Duncan said sitting down beside her.

Veronica moved uncomfortably as she mumbled a quick hello but turned to face their new Journalism teacher, her old cheerleading coach, Ms. Stafford. She had to smile at how upbeat and jovial she sounded. She turned to see if Logan was smirking but he looked a million miles away. He was staring down at his notebook which was strange enough, he never brought anything with him to class. It messed with his slacker title. She jumped as the school's obnoxious alarm sounded.

"What is with these stupid fire alarms?" Duncan asked standing up. He was obviously annoyed at having to evacuate the school for the third time this week.

"Let's go people," Ms. Stafford said standing at the door. She motioned for Veronica to fall into step beside her and wrapped her arm around her shoulders and squeezed her. "How have you been Veronica?" she asked softly.

"I'm good Ms. Stafford," Veronica said shrugging out of her semi-hug. She always felt weird when teacher's treated her like more than just their student.

"We missed you on the cheerleading squad this year," Ms. Stafford said honestly.

"Haven't felt very peppy this year," Veronica said just as honestly.

"Well it's nice getting to see you again," Ms. Stafford said smiling at her. "And Mrs. Dent told me how you were her best investigative reporter so how 'bout it, you want to do a story for me?"

"What kind of story?" Veronica said curiously.

"The fire drills," Ms. Stafford said smiling when Veronica rolled her eyes. "You and I both know there's something behind them Veronica. Three this week."

"Do you think it'll earn me the Pulitzer?" Veronica asked sarcastically but she nodded her head. "I'll do it."

"Great," Ms. Stafford said before taking control of her class.

Veronica stood in the background mentally making a list of who she had to talk to for the intriguing fire drill story when she felt somebody walk up beside her. She turned but frowned when she saw Duncan standing there instead of Logan.

"So why didn't you join the cheerleading squad this year?" Duncan asked smiling.

"Eavesdropping were we," Veronica said trying to take a step away without making it look like she was putting some distance between them.

"You were a cute cheerleader," Duncan pointed out.

"You thought all the cheerleaders were cute at one point," Veronica said remembering a game of I never that had been mortifying for everybody except Lily and Logan. She looked around until she spotted Logan laying across one of the picnic tables with his arm covering his eyes. Lily and Logan had had the right idea back then, never to let anything embarrass them. He was still that way.

"But you-" Duncan went on but Veronica interrupted him.

"Is there a point to this?" Veronica asked knowing she was being rude but she couldn't stand there listening to him try and flirt with her, she was his sister for God's sake. Only he didn't know that.

"Veronica," Duncan said surprised taking a step back.

"I'm just busy right now," Veronica said before turning and leaving. There wasn't any point in sticking around, it didn't look like they were going to be allowed in class anytime soon so she decided to get a head start on her story.

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Wallace stood in front of Veronica's bed pacing back and forth trying not to imagine what his Mother and Veronica's Father were doing in the living room. Veronica chose that moment to open the door and hand him a can of soda.

"They're still watching a movie. He has his arm around her," Veronica said smiling acting like he'd asked what was happening on the other side of the door.

"I didn't ask!" Wallace cried out tossing the can on her bed so he could cover his ears with his hands.

"They're just cuddling Wallace," Veronica said shaking her head at him.

"Now but who's to say if your Dad decides to grope her or something," Wallace said shuddering at the thought.

"My Dad does not grope," Veronica said pointing her finger at him. "Maybe a fondling or two but that's it." When Wallace glared at her she held up both hands. "Whoa brother, I'm just kidding."

"It's not funny," Wallace pointed out.

Veronica took a moment to sit down on her chair and turn it to face him before asking the one question that had been bothering all day. "Does it really bother you…them dating?"

"It doesn't make me jump for joy," Wallace said following her lead as he sat down on the edge of her bed picking back up his unopened soda.

"But you wish they weren't together," Veronica said more of a statement than a question. She already knew the answer.

"Don't you," Wallace said surprised to see such a glum face on his best friend.

"Actually it doesn't," Veronica said still surprised herself. She saw the shocked look on Wallace's face and smiled at him. "My Dad is happy. I haven't seen him this happy in…too long. He puts on an act for me but I know that Alicia makes him happy." Veronica looked down at her hands and shrugged her shoulders. "How can I begrudge him that?"

"But your Mom," Wallace said slowly stopping when Veronica whipped her head up to stare at him. "I thought you still had hopes that she'd…be coming back."

"She won't be coming back," Veronica said coldly.

"Okay," Wallace said confused. The last he'd heard she was looking for her and wanted her to come home so they could be a family again.

"I found her Wallace," Veronica said softly taking a giant step forward by confiding in him. The only other people to know were Logan because he'd been there and her Father because he deserved to know. "I found her and she's a mess."

"She's still your Mom though," Wallace said after a moment of silence went by.

"She gave that up a long time ago," was all Veronica could think to say. She wasn't ready to tell him the whole story. She didn't know if she would ever be able too. Wallace was her best friend, probably her best ever. But this was something that was too private.

"So them two making out doesn't bother you," Wallace said gesturing towards the door. He smiled when Veronica made a face and pretended to gag.

"Okay so it's not something I want to picture or ever witness," Veronica admitted her face flushing slightly. "But I want them to be happy. You should want that too."

"I do," Wallace said quickly but then grinned. "Okay, so I'll work on wanting that…okay?"

"Okay," Veronica said holding her fist out so they could tap them together.

"You try so hard to be gangster," Wallace said laughing at her hand. He just grabbed her wrist and pulled her in for a quick hug. "I'm sorry about your Mom."

"Me two," Veronica said softly blinking back tears. She wrapped her arms around Wallace and sighed taking the comfort that he was offering her. It had been a long time since a simple friend had just given her a hug for comfort. Actually, it had been over a year. Since a certain car wash that she tried hard not to think about…ever.

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Veronica walked by the journalism classroom carrying Norris's file and was wondering how she could dig up some more dirt on this kid Ben. She still had that gut feeling that he had more to do with this thing then Norris.

She saw Duncan sitting at the table on the computer by himself and paused for a moment before walking in. She had to talk to him, especially after blowing him off so badly the day before. It wasn't his fault that she was uncomfortable around him.

"Hey Duncan," she said softly leaning against one of the tables but Duncan didn't even turn to look at her. He just sat there staring at the blank computer screen. "That was either a really poor warm welcome or an excellent cold shoulder."

"I talked to Logan," Duncan said coldly.

Veronica jumped and she knew that she had a guilty look on her face. She stared down at her hands trying to disguise the fact that she was guilty as hell. Whatever Logan had told him was the truth. "This should be good," she said softly wondering if she should just leave now and find Norris and Ben.

"So you have a file on me huh?" Duncan asked pushing back from the table and standing up turning to face her in one movement.

Veronica stood up quickly and took an instinctive step back. She really didn't like the look on his face. "That's true…but I have files on everybody connected to Lily," she added quickly not wanting him to think she singled him out.

"I know," Duncan said taking another step forward. "On my Father, my Mother, even Logan. So just about everybody who loved Lily…right?"

"It was somebody close to her Duncan," she said honestly.

"What does my file say?" Duncan asked taking another step forward.

"It says that you have Type IV epilepsy, that you have mood swings, violent outbursts, that you're taking medication," Veronica admitted. She didn't want to lie to him but she knew that if he was angry before, he was about to get explosive.

"How could you possibly know that?" Duncan asked glaring at her.

"I just do," Veronica said shrugging her shoulders.

"Who are you?" Duncan asked so softly Veronica barely heard him. "That's my private life Veronica. If I wanted you to know I would have told you!"

"Duncan," Veronica said hesitantly taking a step back from him. He was advancing towards her and clenching his fists. "You need to calm down."

"Calm down!" he yelled. "How the hell can I calm down when my ex-girlfriend just admitted to digging in my private life?"

"Do you remember what happened that day Duncan?" Veronica asked quietly staring into his eyes wishing she could read him like she used to be able to.

Duncan stared at her for a moment before he started to pace. "You think I did it. You honestly think I killed my sister," he said shocked. He froze before turning to face her with a strange glint in his eyes.

"Duncan," Veronica said but she turned and ran for the door but he beat her to it slamming it shut and flipping the lock. She backed away putting a table between the two of them. "I need to go Duncan."

"You think I killed Lily," Duncan repeated walking steadily towards her.

"I didn't say that!" Veronica cried but she kept backing up anyway. She looked around trying to plan her escape. She'd never seen Duncan like this and it terrified her. When she turned to look at him she screamed but he clamped his hand over her mouth and put his face right in front of hers causing most of the blood to drain out of her head. Any doubt that she had about him having not killed Lily flew out the window. With that maniacal look in his eyes, he could have been capable of anything.

"You need to delete that file," Duncan said loudly and out of control. He kept walking pushing her back until her back slammed into the wall and her head smacked it heart enough to cause her to grimace in pain. "Do you hear me! Delete it!"

"Mffmm," Veronica mumbled from behind his hand. She reached up to pull his hand from her mouth but he smacked it away with his free hand. She froze realizing that this might have been what happened to Lily.

Lily had always been outspoken and brash and who knew what button she could have pushed that day. Any comment about his relationship with their parent's caused him to get defensive and angry. Maybe she'd said the wrong thing causing him to fly off the handle, much like he was doing right now.

"Delete the file damn it!" Duncan yelled before pulling her towards him so their noses were practically touching. Veronica wanted to close her eyes so she didn't have to stare into his eyes, it was like looking into a completely different Duncan. "Delete it!" he yelled even louder acting like she could just snap her fingers and cause it to delete from her computer. He shoved her so she smacked into the wall even harder. She slowly crumbled to the floor reaching up to finger the bump that was surely forming on her head.

"What in the hell is going on in here!" Weevil yelled after opening the door. He saw Duncan standing over Veronica and walked quickly into the room.

Duncan looked between the biker and Veronica who was crumbled on the floor her eyes filled with pain from having her head smashed into a cement wall twice. He shook his head and weaved slightly on his feet like he was coming out of a trance. He stared down at her in horror for a moment before turning and running out of the room.

Weevil looked like he wanted to give chase but he'd become quite fond of the girl who he'd first thought a huge pain in his ass. She'd ended up saving his bacon on more than one occasion and he might just have to use her again soon so he crouched down in front of her wincing when he saw her gently touch the bump that he could already see forming.

"Do I need to go kick his ass?" he asked softly figuring she had a headache.

"No," Veronica said softly before taking his offered hand and stood up slowly wincing only slightly at the pain it caused. "He's…"

"There's no excuse for hitting a woman V," Weevil said before she could find an excuse, any excuse for Duncan's behavior.

"He didn't hit me," Veronica said forgetting about him slapping her hand away.

"Pushing is the same thing," Weevil said shaking his head at her. "If I asked what that was about would you tell me?" he asked already knowing the answer.

Veronica stared at him and found herself actually wavering. She'd had Weevil's help many times before but she knew she couldn't tell him. "Just forget it," Veronica advised him heading towards the doorway.

"Yeah sure V," he said waiting 'til she left the room before he cracked his knuckles. "Whatever you say."

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Logan sat on one of the ledge's at school. He had a clear view of Veronica's lunch table and the 09er table. He knew they were waving him over and calling to him repeatedly but he didn't want to bullshit today. He didn't want to pretend he cared about what couple's had broken up or what dumbass thing Dick had done today. He wanted to talk to Veronica.

He knew he had slightly over-reacted the other day. Veronica had been honest about investigating Lily's death and that would include everybody. Even him. She even had his sister, Trina, on the list. She'd always hated Lily and had made no qualms about it. He knew Trina would never kill anyone though. It would take to much energy. Which was also what Veronica had wrote under her file.

Logan noticed Duncan was absent again and shook his head. He felt bad for having told him about Veronica's investigation. He knew it would piss him off and that he'd give her hell but it had been in the heat of his anger. Now, after having cooled off, he knew he shouldn't have said anything.

"You better tell your boy to back the hell off V," Weevil said having walked up behind him.

Logan turned his head around so he could look into the biker's face when he smirked and said sarcastically, "my boy? I'm sorry Weevil but I don't have any boys, that would be you."

"I'm talking about Duncan," Weevil said for once not taking the bait.

"What about Duncan?" Logan asked seriously turning his body so he was facing him now.

"I told you to tell him to back off V or I will," Weevil said smiling but there was nothing humorous about the look on his face. "And we both know I won't be using words."

"What did Duncan say to Veronica?" Logan asked but he could guess. It looked like Duncan had already gotten to her and let her have it. He wished he'd gotten a chance to warn her.

"I don't know what was said but I know he was pushing her around," Weevil said watching as Logan got a murderous look in his eyes.

"He pushed Veronica," he said through clenched teeth.

"She's got a bump on the back of her head and she looked pretty shaken when she walked away from me earlier. I even needed to help her stand up," Weevil said laying it on pretty thick. He had a feeling the rich boy's feelings for Veronica ran a little deeper than just friendship. He watched as he whipped out his cell phone and paced away so he could talk at least semi-privately.

"Veronica," Logan said when she finally answered.

"Logan," Veronica said in a clipped tone.

"I…uh…I just wanted to say," Logan said but he cut himself off when he realized he didn't know what to say.

"That you told Duncan about my files," Veronica said for him. "Yeah, got the memo. Thanks for the warning by the way. It was real…nice of you to let me know."

"I'm sorry Veronica," Logan said but then froze when he heard her drop the phone and say in a strained voice, "Oh my god, what do you think you're doing?"

He barely heard what she said next only noting the name Camelot Motel before jumping into his Xterra and peeling out of the parking lot of Neptune High. He didn't even notice the motorcycle pull out behind him. He could hear some guy talking in the back round and he had to applaud Veronica's quick thinking on having dropped the phone from view so he could still listen in.

He pulled into the Camelot Motel's parking lot and spotted Veronica being dragged up a flight of stairs from that stupid kid Ben, the kid everybody was saying was behind the bomb threats. He didn't even think up a plan, only headed towards the opposite stairs where he surprised them and punched Ben as hard as he could, causing him to fly through the air before landing on the ground.

"Logan!" Veronica said loudly but she picked up Ben's wallet wincing when she saw the badge inside. "He's a federal agent.'

Logan stood outside still shocked that Veronica had kicked him out of the motel room. He could still hear her inside though and wanted to walk into the room and punch the damn federal agent for suggesting that Veronica befriend Norris, a potential homicidal killer, just because he had a crush on her.

"Hey," Veronica said after walking out of the room. She shut the door behind her but didn't step closer just stood there staring at him.

Logan stared at her and then he was walking towards her pulling her into his arms as he swooped down and covered her mouth with his. This wasn't a sweet and tentative kiss or even an I'm attracted to you kiss. This was a full out "I was worried as hell about you and this is the only way I can show it."

"So that's the way it is," Weevil said leaning against the railing. He watched as they pulled apart, Veronica looking embarrassed but Logan just looked like he wanted to kill him for interrupting.

"Weevil," Veronica said trying to pull away from Logan but he didn't loosen his hold so she was stuck once again in an 09er's arms. "This isn't what it looks like."

"So you weren't just kissing Richie Rich," Weevil said arching one eyebrow at her.

"Okay so it's exactly how it looks," Veronica admitted. "But please-"

"Forget it," Weevil said turning so he could walk away.

"Richie Rich?" Logan asked staring at her. "That's the best he can come up with."

"Logan," Veronica said this time successfully pulling away. "You can't just keep kissing me."

"I think I can," Logan argued.

"I'm mad at you!" Veronica yelled at him.

"And I'm mad at you!" Logan yelled right back.

"Then why did you kiss me?" Veronica asked confused.

"Because I also care about you and I was worried," Logan said staring at her like she was an idiot for not figuring it out. "Weevil told me about…Duncan. Did he really push you?"

"Weevil should have kept his mouth shut," Veronica said turning to walk down the stairs towards her car. She could hear Logan following her and quickened her pace so she could try and get away but his words stopped her in her tracks.

"I shouldn't have told him," Logan said surprising her. He waited until she was facing him once again before continuing. "As mad as I was at you, I shouldn't have told him. I never would have if I knew he'd react like that." He walked forward raising his hand to touch the bump that was on the back of her head. "I could kill him."

"No you can't," Veronica sighed. She looked down at the ground before looking at him. "I know you don't think he could have killed Lily Logan but you weren't in that classroom today. You didn't see….the look in his eyes."

"So he really could have done it," Logan said trying to get use to the idea.

"I think so," Veronica said sadly. "Logan…I know you don't have an alibi for the day Lily died." She could see him brace himself, expecting the worst. "But I know you couldn't have killed Lily. I think you were the only other person in her life that loved the real her."

"Yeah," Logan said honestly surprised to hear that come from her mouth. He stared at her for a moment but then added as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "I'm still going to give him hell for pushing you."

"I wouldn't expect nothing less," Veronica said rolling her eyes. She didn't realize she'd wrapped his arms around his neck until he was kissing her again. She knew she should pull away but it felt so…right. Kissing Logan should have been another complication in her already complicated life but instead it was the only thing that felt right. Which scared the crap out of her.


End file.
